The Broken Hearted Padawan
by iSparks
Summary: As a new day dawns in the Jedi Temple, the redeemed Padawan, Ahsoka Tano awakens to what she hopes will be a day of change and excitement as her life takes a sudden and unexpected turn. Little does she know however, that as the hour of Order 66 rapidly approaches, her life and that of the entire galaxy, will never be the same again. Re-written and being re-uploaded.
1. Greet The New Day

**Synopsis: **It is 19 years before the battle of Yavin 4 and the Galactic Republic is quickly nearing its final hour as the dark forces of the Sith put their final plan into action. All the while, the young Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, sleeps peacefully in her Temple quarters, unaware that her life and that of the entire Galaxy will soon change forever.

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**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 1**

**Greet the New Day**

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A cool midsummer's morning breeze floated slowly through the open window of a small living quarter in the lower half of the Jedi temple on Coruscant, gently brushing the soft orange cheeks of the sleeping Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who sat idly on a small wooden chair facing the rectangular opening as she was roused from her deep sleep.

The young Togrutan Padawan shivered as she awoke, allowing a moment for her large blue eyes to adjust to the bright rays of light that came with the rising sun, while a small blue bird sat on the windowsill, whistling a happy tune to greet the new day.

Ahsoka gasped suddenly as she leapt slightly out of her seated position, the realisation that she had fallen asleep on her small desk chair hitting her in the form of a stiff back and slightly shaky legs as she found herself almost jumping to her feet.

She stood up quickly, perhaps a little too quickly as she instantly began to feel dizzy, falling forwards suddenly not long afterward and only regaining her balance by placing her left hand on the edge of the window as she remembered to protect her bandaged right arm which sat delicately in a small white cloth sling.

Using her left hand once again, Ahsoka activated the small control panel on the edge of the window, sending the sheet of thick clear glass across and shutting the cool morning breeze out, while also startling the blue bird that she had only just noticed, assuming that the small animal had originated from the temples gardens.

She took a deep breath as she regained her senses and let out a light yawn, before slightly adjusting the white sling on her right arm and turning towards the door that led to her room's adjoining refresher.

Ahsoka yawned once more as she walked into the small room and quickly activated her shower, gratefully welcoming the clear warm water as it danced off her left hand. She then undid her sling and pulled off the glove like bandage that protected her injured right arm before undressing completely and standing under the warm water, again savouring the warmth as the small droplets ran down her sensitive lekku and dropped to the showers floor with small splashes.

It didn't take long before Ahsoka was satisfied that she was clean and ready for the day ahead, as she reluctantly ended the relaxing stream of water and steped out of the shower. She then used her nearby towel to dry herself off before exiting her refresher and opening her closet to remove some clean clothes.

She quickly pulled on her greyish leggings before stepping into her dress and pulling it up over her torso until she was able to clip it at the back of her neck, she then managed to slip on her left armguard, both of her armbands and fingerless glove to her left hand before finally putting on a fresh bandage and setting her right arm back in the soft cloth sling, before finally turning full circle to examine herself in her mirror.

After a quick looking over and brushing down, Ahsoka attached her lightsaber and shoto to either side of her belt as she made her way out of her quarters, making sure to seal the thick steel door behind her as she released a satisfied sigh and stood in the silence of the long Temple corridor.

Ahsoka noted that the Jedi temple was unusually quiet these days, a fact that only made it more clear to herself as well as everyone else as to just how thin the ranks of the order was nowadays.

Many of the elder Jedi were commanding clone units on the many battlefields across the galaxy, others worked on medical stations, healing the wounded and tending to the dead while some, like Ahsoka, remained in the Temple for one reason or another, be it because they were needed to help with the teaching of younglings or, in her case, they were unable to take part in the war, at least not actively.

Even so, she had never seen the old building as empty as it now was. Not since she had arrived as a youngling with Master Plo Koon all those years ago had there been a single day that she would not be embroiled in the daily hustle and bustle that occupied the halls and corridors of her adopted home, a fact that, as it dawned on her, made Ahsoka feel all the more isolated and alone.

It had been two months since she was last on the battlefield and almost a half a year since she had actually fought for the republic. After being re-assigned to Jedi Knight Aayla Secura six months prior, she had spent most of her time helping the medical units on some of the lesser battlefields or being involved in the transport of supplies, weapons or other materials to some of the more badly effected planets.

Ahsoka found her new role tedious and longed to return to the front lines with her master, Anakin Skywalker, who was also the one responsible for her reassignment; he felt she had been suffering too much emotionally after she had witnessed the massacre off innocent Togrutan prisoners by separatist execution droids during the invasion of her home world Shili, and though she didn't like to admit It, it was true she had not been herself for a long time after being forced to watch people of her own kind suffer and die right in front of her and she knew he was right to reassign her, though deep down, she thought herself to be a lot stronger than that.

It was then during a routine mercy mission to Rodia when the republic cruiser Ahsoka and Aayla were traveling on was attacked and boarded by a heavily armed separatist command ship. The duo had managed to hold off the boarding battle droids long enough for Commander Bly and his Clone Troopers to load the medical supplies to their ships escape pods and flee to the planet below, though it was during her own escape that Ahsoka had tripped on a fallen clone and her right arm was painfully crushed by a rolling droideka, being only able to escape the shielded droid thanks to Aayla and Bly's efforts and making it to the final escape pod seconds before their ship was destroyed by the separatist cruisers cannons.

Since then she had been forced to remain on Coruscant and help out in any way she could around the temple and she had not seen Aayla since, hearing only more recently that she had been sent to Felucia to help with the war effort, though there had also been whispers that she had recently taken on a Padawan of her own and was therefore unable to remain at the temple while there were more and more intense battles raging throughout the galaxy and more Jedi were being called upon to aid in the seemingly unending conflicts.

Ahsoka stopped mid stride for a moment and sank into her thoughts. The temple wasn't exactly the most entertaining place to be for someone her age to be, even if she was a Jedi Padawan. Added on to that she was a Togruta, and found it difficult to adapt to not being around a large group or a crowed as it was in her nature to be. At times, she would begin to feel more than a little lonely if she couldn't find anything to occupy her mind with while she waited for her injuries to fully heal, and that only served to add to her ever growing frustration.

She was so used to being active and free to move around, but in her current state she really couldn't do much running or jumping, and practicing any martial arts was also out of the question, a lesson she had learned the hard way after falling face first into one of the many small pools of the Jedi temples gardens a month prior while attempting to perform a flying spin kick, needless to say she was thankful that there was no one there to see her little mistake, though it still hadn't stopped her lekku form darkening in embarrassment.

She sighed in defeat, "I guess it's the archives again..." she said out loud, not expecting anyone to hear her in the deserted corridor while the thought of spending yet another day studying things she most likely already knew while trying not to fall asleep made her let out another light yet frustrated sigh.

Ahsoka then found herself descending one of the temples staircases, slowly approaching the ancient buildings hanger bay as she continued to cycle through her memories and forget exactly what she wanted to do with her day that would end in her falling asleep at a holoscreen. It was only after she had emerged from the stairs and into the adjoining corridor which overlooked the hanger below, that she noticed the tall robbed figure of someone she had not seen since her reassignment and the one person she had missed more than anyone while she had been recovering.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka shouted her master's name as she began to turn her slow stride into an ever quickening run, and a large wave of excitement and anticipation washed over her. She had not had the opportunity to speak with her master since her reassignment, knowing full well that he too had also been reassigned, though unlike her he was still fighting, and though it really hadn't been that long, Ahsoka desperately wanted to catch up with him, if only to help her escape the silence of the archives for a small amount of time.

Ahsoka found herself running faster than she had in months, dodging the occasional lines of Clone Troopers and lone Jedi alike on her way to the stairway that led to the hanger, before making her way down the stairs at an ever quickening pace, a task she found was becoming extremely difficult as her bandaged right arm caused her to lose her balance more than once, until eventually, as she neared the bottom, she tripped and was sent flying toward the floor ahead, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms and wrapped into an embrace she recognised almost instantly.

"Master!" she screamed in excitement as she met the gaze of her teacher, before deciding she didn't have to be so formal, "Anakin".

Ahsoka's heart was pounding as she revelled in the warm and familiar embrace of her masters arms. "Wow Snips, what's the hurry?" Anakin asked with a hint of laughter in his voice as he returned her hug with his own.

Ahsoka broke away from him for a second to regain her balance before embracing him once again with her left arm, "Oh master, it's been so long, I've missed you so much!" she said, tears of happiness forming in her eyes as she tightened her embrace on him.

Anakin once again returned her embrace with that of his own, bringing her head closer to his chest with his right hand placed gently on her rear lekku, "Far too long little one" he said, sending a feeling of warmth to Ahsoka's heart before he turned his gaze to Ahsoka's injured right arm and a small frown crossed his features. "What happened to your arm Snips?" he asked with a concerned and caring tone, one that Ahsoka was surprised to find she had missed more than she had first thought.

She broke away from him then, giving him a sad smile as she lifted her injured arm slightly from its resting place on her stomach, "Oh, you know me master, always making mistakes" she said, leaning her head to the side like she was awaiting sympathy.

Anakin laughed, putting his hand on top of her montrals and playfully shaking her head from side to side, "Well, I'm glad to see you haven't changed too much my young Padawan" he said with a slight smirk.

Ahsoka's lekku darkened from embarrassment, though she still gave him a confident smirk of her own, "Where's Master Obi-Wan?" she asked, looking passed Anakin and towards the empty hanger before shivering after a small but cold breeze hit her exposed shoulder.

It was not often that her master was not seen alongside his own former teacher and she was a little surprised not to see the elder Jedi Master with him now, especially after what she had heard had transpired during the recent battle which took place in the skies over the capital planet.

Anakin's features stiffened slightly, "Obi-Wan's gone to hunt down that rust bucket General Grievous" he said, turning his gaze to the hangers open entrance which looked out towards the republic ship yards for a second before returning to meet Ahsoka's eyes with his own, "It looks like the end of the war is close Ahsoka, soon we'll have peace, and finally get some time off". She noticed a more serious tone in his voice, though he also smirked sarcastically as he finished.

Ahsoka pushed whatever small worries she had to the back of her mind and smiled, "That's great news master!" she shouted, embracing him once again, "I guess that means I won't get to show you up on the battlefield anymore, I bet you're happy about that" she laughed, earning a light chuckle from Anakin in return.

"Don't get too overconfident Snips, you're still the Padawan here and I still have a score to settle after that scrap on…" Anakin paused, looking as though he was remembering himself.

Ahsoka noticed that his smile had suddenly turned from genuine to looking as though he was forcing it on himself. That however was nothing new to her. Ever since the incident on Shili, Anakin had been very distant when recalling certain things from their past, though he had refused to talk about it, at least not with her and it sometimes seemed as though he was hiding something.

"Master?" Ahsoka finally broke the now awkward silence with a concerned look of her own, "Are you okay? You seem distracted" she said, keeping her tone soft as she once again broke their embrace and stepped back to face him.

Anakin gave her another forced smile, "I'm fine Ahsoka, I just haven't been sleeping very well lately, and I have a lot going on right now… you understand, right?"

Ahsoka returned his smile and nodded, not wanting to intrude but also knowing that if she perused the matter, he would only be forced into giving her another forced excuse, "Right, I understand… Skyguy" she replied, using the nickname she had given him when they first met for what was also the first time in a long time and once again wrapping him into yet another light hug.

It was only then however that Ahsoka felt the full extent of her master's worries, not only in regards to herself but also because there seemed to be something else haunting his thoughts and for that same reason she also sensed something was wrong with him that went beyond his usual worries.

Their strong bond as master and apprentice allowed her to feel that something deep inside was hurting him, and there was a conflict within him that she had never felt before, something that seemed to have his full attention yet at the same time was serving to cloud his thoughts and give off an aura of sadness and, more surprisingly, anger. It was not often that Ahsoka would sense this in her master and she could tell that something was definitely not right with him, that much she knew for sure, but what was the cause? She was now determined to find out.

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**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for reading guys. I'd just like to start by apologising for any inconvenience that comes with the rewriting and re-uploading of this story.

The reason behind coming to this decision was simply that I was unhappy with how the story turned out upon completion. When I started writing and uploading back in November of 2012, I wasn't as knowledgeable as I am know, and I would rather begin again from scratch than go on being unhappy with something I love doing so much.

So, know that that's all cleared up; this rewrite will be a lot more detailed and will tie in better with any prequel/sequel that I may or may not have planned for the near future.

Your feedback is always very much appreciated as is any constructive criticism. If there is anything you find is out of place please let me know and I will do my best to change and or correct whatever it may be.

Also, I will be uploading new chapters in pairs with uploads coming on a Friday and Sunday night for seven weeks in total with the final three chapters being uploaded on the final weekend of the seven.

Anyways, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	2. The Bonds of Friendship

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 2**

**The Bonds of Friendship**

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Ahsoka had spent at least an hour roaming the corridors and staircases of the Jedi Temple with her master, sharing the few stories that she had to tell about her time off while also in that time being caught up with all the stories and events that had taken place when both Anakin and Obi-Wan were reassigned to the Outer Rim territories. She was thankful that they were able to spend even a little time together after being separated for so long while also postponing what would surely be another long and boring day in the archives.

Throughout their conversations however, Ahsoka couldn't help but notice that Anakin was hiding something from her, and though strolling around the temple and catching up on what they had been doing since they were split apart seemed to have been something they both enjoyed, he had dodged some of her questions, changed the subject or just stayed silent, something that only served to increase her curiosity and worry toward him.

Anakin had been wearing another forced and fake smile for most of their chat, even though he did seem happy to get to talk to. In truth, she barely let him speak anyway, she had been too busy asking for stories about the battles she had missed and more than once enquiring about how he was personally in an attempt to lure him into letting her help with whatever was causing him to look and feel so lost, those however had been the questions he had dodged, either by frowning and giving one word answer's or simply giving her a shrug in response.

It was then that Ahsoka decided to bring something else up, something that she herself had been struggling with for quite a while but had never felt comfortable enough to speak to anyone about it, she stopped mid stride and turned to him before grapping his gloved right hand with her left and looking deep into his icy blue eyes.

"Master, I need to ask you something", she had a slight quiver in her voice as she began to regret her decision and her plight was not helped when Anakin gave her a concerned look in return.

"Go ahead Snips", he replied, his look turning more questioning that concerned while his tone told her something else was already troubling and distracting him enough that she didn't feel now was the time to ask him what she had wanted.

She frowned; his mind was obviously elsewhere, and the once again forced looking fake smile on his face told her that he was far too distracted to answer her questions, a realisation that dampened her fragile mood more than she would have liked.

Ahsoka let his hand go and stepped back, "N… Never mind Master, you're obviously busy, I'll ask you another time" she said with a frown as her gaze dropped to the floor, though she instantly looked back up when she felt Anakin's hand touch her shoulder.

"I'm always here if you need me Ahsoka, there's just… a lot on my plate right now, perhaps another time would be better" he said, and Ahsoka noticed his smile was truly genuine this time, a fact that made her smile.

"I'll hold you to that Skyguy" she said, grinning confidently as she felt his thumb make small circles on her exposed arm and her mood once again softened.

They agreed to part then; Anakin's communicator had signalled he was needed at the senate building immediately and she understood, especially when he told her that it was the Chancellor himself who had requested his presence.

She embraced him one last time before he left, adding a quick "Don't forget" as a reminder of his promise to her.

"I won't" was his smiling reply.

And then he was gone, leaving Ahsoka to wonder the halls of the temple alone as she had been doing for the last two months. Her walk slowly turned into a little skip as she realised just how empty this part of the temple really was, a month ago she would have been barely able to walk normally without bumping into someone, now however, there was nobody on that floor, and as free as it was, she once again began to feel extremely lonely.

Eventually, after finding herself climbing yet another staircase, Ahsoka's mood began to wane. Two months of doing nothing but studying and moving her legs had nearly bored her to death, but seeing Anakin again had re-lit a fire in her stomach she had lost after injuring her arm, she wanted to do something practical and only one place in the whole temple sprang to mind.

"The sparing room!" she shouted, again not expecting anyone to hear her. Her excitement quickened the pace of her skipping to an eventual run as she made her way deeper into the temple, the thought of getting a little lightsaber practice driving her on until finally she reached the entrance of the training area.

To Ahsoka's relief, a small group of Padawan learners and a few Jedi Knights were already practicing with training weapons, including sabres, vibroblades and staves while a few even trained using blasters.

The familiar sound of plasma striking plasma or steel hitting steel echoed throughout the room and was like music to Ahsoka's ears as she smiled and began to make her way into the large chamber. In the back of her mind she was a little worried that she may make a show of herself if she tried to perform any acrobatic manoeuvres, though she quickly pushed her worries to the back of her mind as the excitement of finally being able to do something she enjoyed took over and made her smile as she crossed the threshold and entered the main chamber.

Ahsoka was suddenly very aware of the stares she was earning from the Jedi that occupied the large room as their eyes turned toward her injured right arm. Usually it wouldn't have bothered her, but she had become a lot more self-aware in the last few months, especially over how she looked, it was a typical girly trait she had never really embraced before, but found herself thinking about it more often than not, especially before she would leave her room in the morning.

She eventually came to a stop in the centre of the chamber and scanned the room for a free space in which she would be able to practice while also avoiding any more awkward stares before her eyes drifted and she noticed a young Twi'lek girl about her age sitting on her own on the far side of the hall and rebuilding her lightsaber using the force to keep the many different parts levitated while she worked, this to Ahsoka would have been a very delicate process but the young Twi'lek seemed to find the process effortless as she moved the many pieces into position and began to reassemble them without breaking a sweat.

Ahsoka decided to make her way across the chamber until she was just next to the girl and instantly noticed the long silka bead Padawan braid that hung freely from her headwear. Ahsoka sat next to her fellow Padawan and the Twi'lek acknowledged her with a soft yet shy smile before quickly returning to her work.

She was wearing a typical set of slightly darker Jedi robes along with her headwear, her skin was a shade of beautiful sapphire blue that instantly caught Ahsoka's attention and she wore a small blue teardrop shaped pendent on the end of a silver chain around her neck along with the silka beads that looked almost identical to Ahsoka's on her head along with the piece of dark headwear.

After a few long moments, the Twi'lek Padawan finished rebuilding her lightsaber and ignited its cyan blade, seeming satisfied with her work as she moved it from side to side and making small circles in the air before deactivating the weapon and placing it on her belt with a satisfied sigh.

It was then that Ahsoka finally felt she could speak. "Hey! Um… My names Ahsoka Tano" she extended her hand which the Twi'lek seemed a little hesitant to take, though she eventually did and shuck it with another slightly shy smile.

"Pleased to meet you Ahsoka, my name's Vaila… Vaila Secura" the girl replied quickly while also blushing slightly as her smile then began to soften and she started to look a bit more comfortable.

Ahsoka raised an eye marking in surprise, "Oh, you're a member of Clan Secura? Like Master Aayla?" she asked, noting that unlike Aayla, Vaila's accent was more like her own than the elegant and flowing tone that Aayla would speak with.

Vaila's smile seemed to grow a little as she heard Aayla's name being mentioned, "Yeah, Aayla was the one who discovered me back home on Ryloth when I was a child, she's looked over my training since" she replied with a nod.

Ahsoka then remembered the rumour that Aayla had taken a Padawan of her own and couldn't help but wonder, "Does that mean she's your master too?" she asked with evident interest.

A small frown then appeared in Vaila's features upon hearing the question, "No, the truth is, I'm still waiting to be assigned to a master… I was allowed the rank of Padawan three years ago, but the Council told me that the war was preventing them from choosing someone suitable to train me" she replied, seeming a little distracted as she confessed that she had yet to be taken by a Knight to train and dropped her gaze to the floor.

Ahsoka knew that it was unusual for someone of Vaila's age not to have a Master yet, though she didn't really think about it that as she moved to place her right hand on the girls shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, "Hey, don't look so down, the war's had a lot of negative effects for all of us, I'm sure you'll have a master soon, no, I know that you'll have a master soon" she said with a wide smile, remembering what her own master had told her and that soon the Clone Wars would finally end with the capture or death of General Grievous, meaning that everything would go back to normal.

The sound of Ahsoka's reassurance seemed to have a positive effect on Vaila as she lifted her head and locked her now hope filled wide green eyes with Ahsoka's own, "You really think so?" she asked, sounding just as hopeful as she looked.

Ahsoka smiled again, "I know so, trust me" she replied confidently, coaxing a wide and genuine smile from Vaila as the young Twi'lek shyly rubbed her left arm with her right and lifted her gaze to meet hers.

"Thanks Ahsoka" Vaila replied, her small smile softening to the point she almost looked like she would cry, through Ahsoka could sense that Vaila was truly happy and glad that someone had reassured her.

Ahsoka and Vaila spent the next half hour together, a time spent getting to know each other a little better, while also quickly realising that the pair had a lot in common. The young Twi'lek even agreed to spar with her new friend, showing that she too was skilled in using a reverse Shien grip though she had made sure to be careful not to be too aggressive in order to avoid doing any more damage to Ahsoka's arm.

"You're pretty good" Ahsoka said though light but fast breaths as she quickly realised just how rusty she was after being away from the battlefield for so long.

Vaila giggled through her own quick panting, "For someone who is right handed, I'd have to say the same to you" she replied with a smile though Ahsoka could tell that Vaila had been going very easy on her for the duration of their session together.

"Come on; show me what you've really got!" Ahsoka shouted with a slight grin, igniting her Lightsaber once more and leaning into a rather awkward looking battle stance, "Give me your all".

Vaila gave the Togruta a worried look, "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you" she asked with a nervous tone.

Ahsoka smiled confidently, "I can handle it" she said,

The soft smile that Vaila had been wearing then turned into a more neutral look as she closed her eyes and took in a long breath through her nose. For a moment, Ahsoka thought that the girl was beginning to meditate though that mind-set was quickly pushed aside as Vaila opened her eyes once more, revealing not her bright, soft and kind green eyes, but a pair of sapphire blue orbs that had consumed their entirety and seemed to lock their gaze on Ahsoka's blade.

It was only a split second later that Ahsoka found herself being pushed back by an unrelenting assault from Vaila's quick moving lightsaber. She managed to dodge and block a flurry of strikes but in the end, Ahsoka could only attempt to maintain her balance as the unnatural and majestic movements of the young Twi'lek caused her to lose her balance and fall backwards.

Ahsoka gasped as she fell and slammed her eyes shut, preparing herself for the impact of hitting the hard floor beneath her feet, though what happened next came as even more of a surprise.

Re-opining her eyes, Ahsoka found herself lying on what she could only describe as an invisible blanket, as the force energy around her increased to a level she had never experienced before. It was only then that her eyes snapped back open and she returned her gaze towards Vaila, finding that the young Twi'lek's eyes had not only returned to normal, but they were also filled with tears.

"I… I'm so sorry" Vaila stuttered as she used the force to return Ahsoka to her feet, before finally ending her stream of power with a light sigh and she quickly turned like she was about to leave only to freeze when Ahsoka gently took hold of her shaky right hand.

"Hey, it's okay" Ahsoka said with a reassuring tone, sensing that Vaila was truly shaken by what she had done.

Vaila frowned, "No… it's not" she said through the tears, "I'm not supposed to use my Battle Meditation unless I'm in danger… When you asked me to give you my all… I panicked…"

Ahsoka's eyes widened, "Battle Meditation? I thought that ability only affected those around the user and required complete concentration?" she asked, remembering back to her days as an initiate and learning about the very rare power.

Vaila's frown deepened, "Normally it does… I was always told my ability was unique, that it was dangerous… I shouldn't have used it, I'm sorry, Ahsoka"

A look of understanding crossed Ahsoka's features before they were replaced once more by a small smile, "Vaila…" she started as she made her way to stand in front of the shaken Padawan, "You don't have to apologise, if anything, I should be the one saying sorry" she said with a reassuring smile, "I asked you to give me everything you had and you did, I should never have put you on the spot like that, so, I'm sorry Vaila"

Vaila's frown quickly turned to a look of surprise as she sniffed back the tears and rubbed her eyes, "I… I guess we're both sorry" she finally said, a small smile appearing on her mouth and an air of calm once again surrounding her.

Ahsoka giggled, "Yeah, but I'm also thankful, if you hadn't used the force to stop my fall, I probably would have a really sore back right about now" she said, earning a small, shy laugh from her new friend.

"Don't mention it" Vaila replied with a small smile, though her features quickly turned to a look of surprise as her stomach rumbled a little louder than it maybe should have, "I guess I should get some breakfast" she said with a giggle.

Ahsoka smiled, only noticing that she too was incredibly hungry and the fatigue of her sparring with Vaila had only served to increase her appetite, "Mind if I come along, I think I'll heel over if I don't eat something soon" she said, rubbing her stomach as if to emphasize her hunger.

A wide smile spread across Vaila's features upon hearing the question, "Of course you can, silly!" she replied, grabbing Ahsoka's left hand and quickly leading her out of the sparring room to the corridor beyond.

Ahsoka laughed as she was led towards the Temples elevator by Vaila, a feeling of both happiness and relief washing over her with the knowledge that she finally wouldn't have to be lonely anymore. It had been a long time since she had felt so comfortable around someone as much as she did with Vaila, not since she had been sidelined all those months ago, but right now she wasn't worried about that, she was just thankful that she finally had a friend to talk to, knowing that this was only the beginning of what she now hoped would be a long and fun filled day.

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**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for reading guys and sorry for taking so long to get back to this story, it's been a tough few weeks, but I'm back and ready to finally get some serious work done.

Anyways, back to the story and as always I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. After looking over the bio I wrote for Vaila, I decided to give her something that would make her a little more unique which led me to giving her an equally unique version of Battle Mediation.

Over the course of the story I will hopefully be able to explain Vaila's power in more detail, though I may save it for her own story which I am also currently working on.

As always, your feedback is very much appreciated so feel free to leave a review with your thoughts and let me know if you like the re-write so far.

So, until next time, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	3. The More Things Change

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 3**

**The More Things Change**

* * *

Ahsoka let out a satisfied sigh as she cheerfully sank her canine like teeth into a piece of her favourite fruit, a fresh sihan peach, savouring the sweetness of her breakfast as she listened eagerly to Vaila whom she had insisted told her more about herself and her time in the Jedi Order.

Another wide smile spread across Ahsoka's face as she heard the many stories Vaila had to tell, it had been so long since she had been able to just relax and talk to someone in such an open way as she now was with the young Twi'lek and even longer since she had considered anyone to be an actual friend in the way that she was sure Vaila was and would be, a fact she once again thanked the force for, as she laughed at a particular joke about the exploits of a young former Padawan by the name of Aayla Secura.

After breakfast, Vaila insisted that Ahsoka join her in a trip to the Temple Gardens to meditate, and though Ahsoka was never very fond of the practice, she wanted nothing more than to spend more time with and get to know her new friend.

The pair then left the mess hall, Ahsoka using the opportunity to return Vaila's stories with those of her own, earning looks of surprise, cries of laughter and a few gasps from the young Twi'lek as Ahsoka explained some of her earlier experiences as the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker.

"You fought General Grievous all by yourself?" Vaila asked with a shocked expression as Ahsoka explained the events of the mission on Skytop Station.

Ahsoka laughed, "That was my masters reaction too, he told me it was foolish to face him on my own, but I had a squad of Clones with me… for most of it" she said, giggling again as she finished.

Vaila smiled, "And you were able to hold him off, even at such an early stage in your training?" she asked curiously, "That must have been terrifying".

Ahsoka smirked confidently, "Nah, he's just another tinny really, though a little harder to scrap" she said with another giggle, "I know that it might have been a bit silly to take him on alone, I guess it just seemed like a good idea at the time"

"You're so brave, I don't think I would be able to hold myself against such an opponent" Vaila said with a small smile as she used her thumb to make small circles on the top of her lightsaber.

Ahsoka patted the Twi'lek gently with her left hand, "I think you could, just shoot him those crazy eyes and he'll hit the floor faster than an initiates dada pad in a force practice class"

Vaila laughed, "I guess that's one way of putting it" she said, "Crazy Eyes, I think I like that" she giggled, before the pair turned the corner of the long corridor that connected the mess hall with the temples main hall, and began to make their way towards the entrance to the Temple Gardens.

Upon arriving at the wide expanse of forests, Vaila led Ahsoka to an area in the deepest recesses of the gardens, a place she explained was special to her due to the plants and trees that had been taken from the forests of the night side of her home planet, Ryloth.

"Aayla brought me here the day I arrived at the temple" Vaila explained thoughtfully as she sat cross legged on the soft grass that carpeted the gardens floor, underneath the tall overhanging crystalline trees.

Ahsoka arched an eye marking, "You remember that? "she asked in a surprised tone, "I can barely remember my first day at the temple, it seems like such a long time ago now.." she said, sinking into thought as she mimicked Vaila's position and tried to recall the day she arrived at the temple, fourteen years prior.

Vaila looked curiously at the Togruta, "Don't you remember your family? Or your home?" she asked with interest as she played with two blades of grass between her fingers.

Ahsoka frowned, "I guess not… To be honest, I don't think I've ever really thought about it, though…" she paused, suddenly recalling a memory from not too long ago, though it seemed to come and pass just as quickly and she was unable to grasp it properly, "…Do you remember much about your life before becoming a Jedi?" Ahsoka asked after her moment of thought, though at the back of her mind she began to question why her memory had suddenly begun to appear so clouded.

Vaila then went on to recall her childhood, or at least what she could remember. She explained how difficult it had been to adapt to the ways of the Jedi Order as she had had such a strong bond with her parents as well as others at an early time in her training.

The conversation then came to an abrupt when Vaila had begun recalling her later initiate years, insisting that they take some time to meditate, though Ahsoka could sense that the Twi'lek was not very keen to reveal certain things about her past, at least not yet, and she was happy not to pursue the matter, knowing all too well that sometimes the past is best left in the past.

Ahsoka exhaled a long breath as she calmed her mind and began to immerse herself into the warm light of the force, taking in the infinite flow of power as she reached out with her thoughts and scanned the world around her. It didn't take long however until her thoughts had begun to drift away to things outside the peace and tranquillity of a conventional meditation and she began to think about her master and the unknown matters that had been troubling him that morning.

She had wanted to ask Anakin something regarding some strange feelings and recurring dreams that she'd been experiencing since their mission to Shili, feelings that were against the code of the Jedi, and nightmares that she feared would haunt her forever if she was not able to receive clarity on them, the only problem was, she had not had the chance to speak to anyone she trusted enough yet and she felt Anakin had enough of his plate at the moment to be dealing with her little problems.

There had been a strange air about him that morning which only added to her worries, though being around Vaila and having a little fun had taken her mind of it, at least for the moment.

Ahsoka's train of thought was then interrupted when the sound of an incoming life-form caused her montrals to act up, making her snap out of the peaceful state she had just about managed to embrace and back to reality, only to find a small human girl standing rather nervously in front of the two Padawan learners.

"Can I help you, little one?" Vaila broke the silence with a gentle smile as she too opened her eyes and directed her gaze toward the young girl, before instantly recognising her as a Jedi initiate.

The girl froze a little at the question, though she seemed to gather herself quickly as she patted down her small set of robes and placed her hands together in front of her stomach, "Um… I have a message for… Padawan Tano? I was told she was here?" she asked with a stuttering and slightly nervous tone to her voice.

Ahsoka's eyes widened somewhat as she heard her name being mentioned, though it was more out of surprise that someone wanted to speak to after not hearing from anyone for such a long time, "Hi, I'm Ahsoka Tano" she said, using her left hand and standing up from her seated position only to fall to one knee in front of the youngling and smiling in an attempt to make the girl feel a little more comfortable.

"Um… yeah, there is a call waiting for you in the communications tower, I was told to let you know it was urgent" the youngling replied with a small smile, sounding a little more confident and sure of herself.

"Oh?" Ahsoka inquired simply, "Do you know who it is that asked for me?" she asked with a curious tone.

The youngling seemed to take a moment to think, "It was…" she paused, "Oh, I remember! His name is Lux! I think he said… he said he was a senator" she replied happily, her smile growing wider as she seemed to recall her instructions.

Ahsoka's eyes widened suddenly, "Lux!?" she spoke his name with a small yelp, feeling a little more excited than she perhaps thought she should have been, "I'll be right there, thank you so much for delivering the message little one, you've done a fantastic job" she said, placing her gloved left hand on the girls shoulder and smiling brightly.

The girl smiled again and bowed her head slightly, "You're welcome, Ahsoka" she replied with another small bow and a nod towards Vaila, before turning on her heel and making her way back down the paths of the garden towards the corridor on the far side of the small jungle.

After the girl had disappeared, Ahsoka quickly stood from her kneeling position and turned back to face Vaila who was now also back on her feet, a look of curious anticipation on her face as she rubbed her left forearm, a habit Ahsoka had noticed occurred a lot when the Twi'lek would be put on the spot or when she was uncomfortable about something that had happened.

"I guess you have to go…?" Vaila asked innocently, though Ahsoka also picked up on her disappointment that they would have to go their separate ways.

"Hey, don't look so down" she replied reassuringly, taking a step towards Vaila, "I have to take the call, but I promise I'll come right back as soon as I'm done" she said happily, knowing that the feeling of disappointment was a very mutual one.

Vaila tilted her head to the side, a look of hope crossing her features as well as a small smile as she stopped rubbing her arm and instead placed both her hands together in front of her; much like the youngling had earlier, "Really?" she asked, sounding as hopeful as she looked.

Ahsoka nodded with a smile, "You can't get rid of me that easily!" she replied, her smile brightening as she gently patted Vaila's shoulder.

Vaila giggled at the touch, "I guess not" she said with a smile of her own, "I think I'll go back to my room for a while though, you can meet me there if that's ok?" she asked, again with a hopeful tone.

"Of course that's ok, just point me in the right direction and you'll never see the end of me!" Ahsoka asked with a giggle as she quickly used her left hand and wiped some stray blades of grass off the back of her skirt.

"Room 427 on the fourth floor, I'll put the kettle on" Vaila replied with a cute grin, before gesturing towards the path that led to the Gardens exit, "Come on, I'll walk with you" she said happily, before beginning to walk down the white stone path with Ahsoka by her side.

Upon reaching the Jedi Temples main hall, Ahsoka surprised Vaila with a small hug before insisting that the young Twi'lek take the elevator back to her room while she used the stairs to make her way to the communications tower.

Ahsoka then found herself feeling more and more excited as she quickened her pace, she hadn't seen or heard from Lux in months or longer, not since the Battle of Onderon even, and the prospect of hearing from him again only added to once again make her increase the speed of her strides as she quickly made her way up the dimly lit staircase that led to the temples comm tower.

As soon she spotted the light that marked the top of the long stair, Ahsoka began to play out what was about to happen in her head. She had so many questions that she could ask him, how was life as a senator? How had he been since they last spoke? Why was he calling her now of all times? All these questions and more spiralled around her head just as she reached the entrance to the short hall that circled the tower and she began to jog down the corridor, arriving in the communications room soon after.

"Hello there young Padawan, how can I help you today?" the smile of the comm towers receptionist, a short and aging human man with grey hair greeted her, as Ahsoka turned the corner into the main call room.

"I'm Ahsoka Tano" she said, pointing at herself as if to emphasize the statement, "I was told there was a call for me?" She asked with a small smile.

The receptionist looked down at his screen for a moment before facing Ahsoka once more, "Ah yes, we're holding a call holo-call for you in…" he looked at his screen again, "…room four" he said with another smile before pointing out the room and returning to his work.

Ahsoka returned his smile and bowed, "Thank you" she said, before beginning her walk towards the door to the fourth room with a quick pace, her excitement growing with each stride before she arrived at the entrance to the room and activated the small control panel to open the door.

The holopad was a platform shaped device located in a small cylindrical room and down some steps. It reminded Ahsoka of the much larger conference room the Council would use to contact Jedi on the front lines of the Clone Wars, or on one of the many command ships that were spread out across the galaxy, though of course, this room was on a much smaller scale.

Ahsoka re-sealed the door behind her as she entered, making her way to the holopad which had a small green light blinking to signify a waiting call. She touched the flashing green light which activated the device, causing a blue hologram of Lux Bonteri to appear in front of her.

"Lux!" she shouted, her lekku darkening from embarrassment almost instantly as she realised how overexcited she sounded at that moment, "Um… hi?" she greeted him with an awkward smile.

Lux smiled and seemed to giggle at her reaction, "It's good to see you again Ahsoka, it's been too long" he said, placing his arms behind his back in a dignified manner as his smile softened.

Ahsoka composed herself and mimicked his action with her left arm, "It's good to see you too, Lux" she said, smiling brightly and finding that her heart was pounding rabidly in her chest, "So… what's up?" she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice as every question she had hoped to ask him escaped her.

Lux smiled again, "Well, I have some news for you actually; I'm currently here on Coruscant to negotiate a peaceful settlement on behalf of the royal family of Onderon that will see our planet become neutral and I was hoping that perhaps we could meet up and go to the senate building together?" he asked, staring at her and looking just as nervous as he finished.

Ahsoka's heart quickened once more, "I'd love to!" she shouted again before quickly holding her left hand to her mouth, "Sorry..." she said through her fingers before returning her hand to behind her back.

Lux laughed as she turned her gaze to the floor, "You haven't changed a bit Ahsoka" he smiled, "But perhaps we could meet for lunch first? I found a place yesterday near Monument Plaza that makes the most delicious Spice Loaf; I could send a ship to pick you up?"

Ahsoka smiled, "That sounds great Lux, I'd love to…" suddenly she remembered Vaila, she couldn't just abandon her new friend to go to lunch with Lux, she had promised the young Twi'lek that she would call to her room after all, and she was not won to break a promise so easily, "Would it be ok if I brought a friend with me?" she asked, sounding a little tense.

Lux shot her an intrigued look, "I suppose it couldn't hurt" he said, sounding a little reluctant though he quickly regained his composure and straightened himself.

"Thank you! Her name's Vaila, she's a Jedi like me. I wouldn't have asked, but I promised I'd go back to her and I planned on spending the day with her too, you understand right?" she tilted her head to the side much like Vaila had earlier and smiled thoughtfully.

Lux seemed to be caught off-guard, "Oh… um… of course, I understand, feel free to bring her along, I would love to meet her" he said, again sounding just a little reluctant.

Ahsoka smiled brightly, keeping her head tilted, "That's great Lux, I'll wait in the hanger for your ship, don't be late!" she said, giving him a confident smirk.

Another smile crossed Lux's face, "I wouldn't dream of it" he replied, before bowing slightly and finally ending their conversation as the hologram disappeared, plunging the small room back into darkness with a low beep from the now deactivated holopad.

Ahsoka sighed heavily and gently rubbed away a small itch on her bandaged right arm. She certainly hadn't anticipated that today would be so busy but that was by no means a bad thing, in fact, Ahsoka was over six moons of Shili that her day continued to surprise her. Not only had she made a new friend in Vaila, but she now had the opportunity to catch up with another one in Lux.

Ahsoka then left the small comm room and once again thanked the elder receptionist as she mad ether way out into the corridor and towards the elevator, not wanting to waste any time on the stairs as she once again felt a wave of excitement wash over her and she found herself not wanting to wait to tell Vaila that their day was about to get a bit more fun.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. It was a bit of a change to my original idea in that there was a lot more dialog and such, but I also decided to have Ahsoka and Vaila visit the Jedi Temples Gardens and get to know each other a bit better in a peaceful environment.

Also I realise that some of you may be aware that Togruta's do not eat fruit and are mainly meat eaters, but I wanted to give Ahsoka a little trait of my own which I'll probably continue using in future stories, including the upcoming prequel to this story.

The next chapter will be uploaded on Sunday as promised from the beginning, but until then, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you all next time, cheers!


	4. Touching The Sky

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 4**

**Touching The Sky**

* * *

A light sigh escaped Ahsoka's lips as she lay back against the cool glass that circled the cylindrical temple elevator, a small smile crossing her features as she mentality planned out the rest of her day, though it was not long before she found herself walking the long corridors of the temple fourth floor in search of room 427 and Vaila who she hoped was waiting for her within.

Ahsoka came to a halt in front of the dark blue door, activating the bell button to its side as the Jedi Temple erupted with the sounds of the greater bells that rang out from the ancient buildings central tower.

"_Noon_", Ahsoka thought to herself as the door in front of her slid open and Vaila quickly emerged from her room to wrap her in a small hug.

"You made it" the young Twi'lek exclaimed happily, before taking a light hold of Ahsoka's hand and leading her into the small quarters, "Make yourself at home, Ahsoka, I'll go and make us some tea" Vail said with a smile and an evident tone of excitement that made Ahsoka giggle.

"You're a star, Vaila" Ahsoka said through her laughter as she took a seat on one of the small but surprisingly soft purple armchairs that sat around Vaila's circular table.

Vaila poked her head out of her small kitchen, "It's no trouble, silly" she said with a small smile, "So? How did your call go?"

Ahsoka giggled again, "It was good, we agreed to meet up soon and go to lunch at Monument Plaza" she replied, the thought of seeing Lux again re-entering her mind as she shivered with anticipation.

"Oh… so, you'll be leaving again…" Vaila said with a small frown as her tone echoed her disappointed expression.

"Hey, don't be like that, I asked if you could come along too and he agreed, you think I would just leave you here?" Ahsoka asked with another soft smile.

Vaila's features softened, "Oh, I don't want to be a nuisance "she said with a worried smile as her head tilted to the side.

Ahsoka laughed, "You won't be, I promise" she replied happily, "Lux is an old softy, but I'll keep him in line" she continued, a confident smirk crossing her lips as she fidgeted at her lightsaber.

"Thank you, Ahsoka" Vaila replied, "No one's been this nice to me in such a long time… I'm glad we met" she said with a small but bright smile as her cheeks turned a shy shade of purple.

Ahsoka smiled softly, "Not as glad as I am" she said, earning yet another bright smile from the Twi'lek as she once again poked her head back into the kitchen and exited soon after carrying a small tray.

Vaila placed the tray of two cups of tea and some sliced Tatooine flatbread in the centre of the small table before taking a seat opposite Ahsoka and quickly taking a sip from one of the cups, "So, when are you…" Vaila paused with another smile, "... when are we meeting your friend?"

Taking a sip from her own cup, Ahsoka though back to her talk with Lux, "I'm not really sure, he said he'd pick us up, so I guess pretty soon" she replied thoughtfully as she took a bite of some flatbread.

"Oh, I guess we should leave soon then, I'll go get ready" Vaila said, before quickly downing what was left of her tea and quickly making her way to and opening the small closet next to her bed, removing a small pile of clothing and then running into her refresher.

It didn't take long before Vaila re- emerged from her refresher, wearing a new set of clothes which included a loose white top which doubled as a short dress, black leggings and a pair of knee high black boots. She then attached her lightsaber to a belt and tied it around her slim waist, hiding it underneath her top as she took a quick look in the mirror and smiling, satisfied that she looked presentable.

Ahsoka giggled to herself, "You look like a normal civilian" she said with a smile, though suddenly, she found herself wishing she had taken her hooded robe to hide her own lightsaber and shoto, just in case.

Vaila added a giggle of her own as she brushed herself down, "So how are we getting to Monument Plaza exactly? It's a long way from here, right?" she said, placing her Jedi robes back in her closet and shutting the steel door.

"Well, like I said, Lux told me he would be sending a ship to pick us up, so I guess we won't need to take the Monorail" Ahsoka replied thoughtfully as she took a final sip of her tea.

Vaila nodded and made her way to the door, activating the control pad to open it. She then gestured for Ahsoka to go first before following and activating the outside control pad to close and lock the door.

The two Padawan's then took the elevator to the hanger bay to await Lux's ship, giving Ahsoka time to tell Vaila more about Lux and earning a small fit of giggling when she told her about the time he had kissed her on Carlac in an attempt to fool the Death Watch leader into thinking they were betrothed.

"So he just kissed you? What an odd thing to do, especially knowing you're a Jedi" Vaila giggled upon hearing about their exploits.

Ahsoka blushed and playfully slapped Vaila's shoulder with her left hand, "It's not funny" she said, before joining in with Vaila's laughter as the elevator came to a stop on the hanger bays floor.

Stepping out of the large glass cylinder, Ahsoka and Vaila gasped simultaneously as they were hit by the cold air which was drifting in from the hanger's open doors.

Ahsoka rubbed her right arm with her left to try and keep herself warm as she found herself once again wishing she had taken her robe with her.

Lux's ship was waiting on the landing pad outside, a modified senate airbus. Ahsoka froze as she seen the Senator of Onderon standing next to the shuttle, he was wearing a grey and black trench coat, a pair of black boots and pair of dark leather gloves. He smiled as he seen them approach.

"Ah, there you are. I thought you had forgotten about me" he said with a smirk before walking into the hanger to meet them.

Ahsoka smirked as she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, "Never" she said, smiling brightly and surprising Lux by wrapping him in a small hug, "It's been too long, Lux" she said happily.

Lux seemed to freeze upon being embraced by the young Togruta but was quick to return her embrace with his own as he himself smiled, "I missed you too, Ahsoka" he replied softly, "What happened to your arm, I forgot to ask when I called you, I hope it's not too bad?"

Ahsoka broke their embrace and lifted her bandaged right arm slightly, "It's a long, boring story but it's not as bad as it looks" she replied with another small smirk.

Another small smile crossed Lux's features, "I was right, you really have changed one bit, still always getting into trouble" he laughed, though he was quickly silenced by another light punch to the shoulder.

"It's a change; normally it's you who leads me into trouble" Ahsoka replied confidently, earning another laugh from the young senator as he rubbed his arm and suddenly looked past Ahsoka to the hanger behind.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" he asked, turning his gaze towards Vaila as she shyly rubbed her left forearm.

Ahsoka turned and gestured for the young Twi'lek to join them, "Don't worry he doesn't bite" she laughed, though she instantly began sensing Vaila's reluctance as she slowly took a few steps forward.

"Um… hi…" Vaila began with a stutter, "My name's Vaila… Vaila Secura" she said, her cheeks turning that familiar shy shade of purple as she dropped her gaze to the ground beside her.

Lux raised an eyebrow as he too took a small step forward before smiling and offering his hand to the young Twi'lek, "It's nice to meet you, Vaila, my name is Lux Bonteri" he said in a calm tone which made Ahsoka smile, he was obviously trying to make Vaila feel a little more comfortable.

Vaila seemed to relax a little as she accepted Lux's hand and shuck it slowly, "It's… nice to meet you too… senator Bonteri" she said with a slow sigh as Ahsoka noticed Lux look Vaila up and down much like he had her when they first met on Raxus.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal" Lux said with a smile and a small laugh, "Call me Lux" he finished, before withdrawing his hand and looking back at Ahsoka as a slightly awkward silence followed Vaila's shy nod.

"Anyway" Ahsoka finally broke the long quiet moment, "How about we get out of here before Vaila and I freeze to death" she continued with a small smile as she hugged her left arm to her side and shivered.

Lux nodded, "Of course, feel free to take a seat inside and I'll let the pilot know we're ready" he said in a more dignified tone before turning to enter the small craft and gesturing for the two Padawan's to follow.

Ahsoka returned Lux's nod before making her way to Vaila's side and gently placing her left hand on the Twi'lek's shoulder, "Let's go" she said, giving her friend a reassuring smile as she too boarded the craft with Vaila not far behind.

The inside of Lux's airbus was lightly decorated with a dark shade of orange, while symbols of both the Republic and the Royal dotted the spaces between the tinted windows. Ahsoka also noticed the present and very welcome warmth that embraced her as she stepped inside the small craft and quickly chose a booth at the far end of the airbus in which she and Vaila could sit for their journey as well as awaiting for Lux to return from letting the pilot know they were ready to set off.

Ahsoka sighed happily as she sat back into the softness of the booths sofa like seats before patting the area beside her and gesturing for Vaila to sit down, "Force, these are comfy" she said with a satisfied grin as she sighed once more and dug herself further back into the cushiony seating.

Vaila only gave a small smile as she took her seat instantly dropped her head to the floor and clasped her hands together underneath the table which sat in front of them.

"Vaila? Are you feeling ok?" Ahsoka asked with concern evident in her voice, "You don't have to be nervous around Lux, he's no different to you or me" she said, trying to lift the young Twi'lek's spirits though she couldn't help but wonder why Vaila was always so shy.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka, I just get nervous around new people… especially when they aren't Jedi…" Vaila replied softly as she locked her eyes with Ahsoka's.

The Togruta raised an eye marking, "Can I ask why?" she asked simply.

Vaila shuck her head, "I'd rather not… sorry" she replied, sounding a bit unsure though Ahsoka could sense Vaila had her reasons.

"Don't apologise, Vaila, we all have little things that get to us, I know that more than most, but it's up to you whether you want to talk about it or not and I respect that" Ahsoka said with a light smile and a reassuring tone, earning a nod and another small smile from Vaila as she seemed to relax into her seat.

"What are we talking about?" Lux asked with a grin as he took his seat across from the two Padawan's, removing his coat and gloves beforehand and placing them on the seat next to him.

Ahsoka shuck her head with a grin of her own before giving the senator a light kick, "Just girl stuff" she replied, turning to smile at Vaila returned it with her own.

Lux gave her and exaggerated frown as he rubbed his leg, "Girl talk must really hurt" he said, earning a giggle from both Padawan's as the engines of the airbus hummed to life and the craft finally took off towards its destination high in the Manarai Mountains.

Ahsoka was glad to see Vaila open up a little more throughout the short trip, the young Twi'lek had apologised to Lux for being disrespectful though Lux had instantly waved it off and assured Vaila that it was fine as well as understanding her position and that she was shy when meeting people outside of the Jedi Order, it was a small sentiment, but Ahsoka could tell Vaila was glad that both herself and Lux were understanding and respectful of her privacy and that only helped to relax the mood between the trio as their craft quickly made its way up the tallest mountain of Coruscant's mountains, Umate and Monument Plaza which sat at its peak.

The small craft came to a slow stop on one of the many landing zones outside the vast Plaza before the doors opened and allowed it's passengers off.

Vaila gasped upon turning and gazing down at the vast cityscape beneath, her eyes widening as she realised just how high up they were now standing while she also looked to have become a bit dizzy, "Come on, Vaila, I wanna show you the peak of Umate!" Ahsoka shouted happily as she grabbed the young Twi'lek's arm and led her to the centre of the massive square.

The surrounding mall resembled a stadium with the peak of Umate standing in the centre. Huge statues and colourful banners decorated the grounds, while restaurants and shops were built into the plaza walls which towered high above the peak itself, almost rivalling the five towers of the Jedi temple in Ahsoka's eyes as she and Vaila admiered the sights from the base of Umate's peak.

Lux then lead Ahsoka and Vaila to a restaurant called The Manarai which was located in a spire alongside the plaza, Ahsoka gasped at the view they had from their seat which looked down upon the vast cityscape below them, much like the landing pad had earlier, though now she could see a lot more, including both the Jedi Temple and the Senate Building.

"You know this is one of the most exclusive restaurants on Coruscant" Lux said as he took his seat at their reserved round table. "If it weren't for the Chancellor pulling a few strings it would have taken months to get a reservation"

Ahsoka gave him an exaggerated nod, "Well, aren't you well connected" she said, putting on a posh accent which made Vaila giggle.

"It's very beautiful" Vaila observed, staring down at the vast city while Ahsoka noticed she seemed a lot more comfortable now, which in turn made her happier.

A well-dressed male Rodian waiter then arrived and took their order before delivering a large jug of spring water to their table. Not long after the Rodian returned with an oversized tray holding three heated plates, a large spice loaf and a selection of exotic vegetables. He set a plate in front of each of them and then placed the tray in the centre of the table so all the food was within reach of everyone.

"Enjoy" he said with a smile and a dignified bow before taking his leave, though only after Lux had given him a generous tip.

As they ate, Vaila began to open up a little more. She started by once apologising to Lux for her shyness and went on to introduce herself properly. Ahsoka also learned some new things about her newest friend as she recalled her life since she was brought to Coruscant by Aayla, her early training, a brief spell in the AgriCorps and her most recent promotion to the rank of Padawan.

Lux and Ahsoka also told Vaila about how they met and about their exploits together, avoiding certain things like their kiss on Carlac, though Vaila already knew about it. Ahsoka also finally told Lux how she had broken her arm, earning sympathy from both him and again from Vaila, though Lux gave her a sarcastic frown that made her laugh.

"So Lux, why are you here?" asked Vaila, taking a sip of the ice cold spring water.

"Oh, did Ahsoka not tell you?" he replied, giving the Togruta an exaggerated smirk, as the Togruta stuck out her tongue in response which made Lux laugh before turning back to face Vaila, "Well, I'm here to finalise the peace negotiations between the republic and Onderon while also ratifying our new neutral status. Boring politics for short" he said with a small laugh.

Vaila smiled in response, "So you'll be meeting Chancellor Palpatine?" she asked thoughtfully.

"After a speech in front of senate, then we'll sign the agreement" Lux sighed, "It's going to be a long day" he said, rolling his eyes as he nibbled on a piece of his spice loaf.

Ahsoka and Vaila giggled together and continued to eat. They spent the next half hour continuing to chat. Ahsoka smiled throughout, she was happy that finally, after two months of being stuck in the temple with nothing to do but study, she was finally having some fun, meeting new friends and talking to someone that wasn't a droid or a Jedi Master.

She was also happy to see Vaila so happy and finally comfortable around Lux to talk, "_It can only get better_", she thought as a wide smile crossed her features and she hoped that the rest of her day was as good as its beginning.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks as always for reading guys and sorry for taking so long to update, it's been a busy weekend.

I hope you all like the re-write of this story so far and again, I sincerely apologise for making such a mess early on, stress really can drive a person to do some crazy things but hopefully what I'm doing with this makes up for my stupidity.

Anyways, back to the story and for those who may have already read this, you will notice a lot more dialog as well as a few added things here and there that will tie in with Ascension once I start uploading it hopefully later on this month, and if you're reading this for the first time, I really hope you're enjoying the story so far.

I also want to say thanks for all the kind messages that I received upon deciding to come back as well as the unbelievable support, you guys really know how to make a guy happy and I couldn't ask for a better audience. Again I hope I can repay you all with a high standard of writing as well as a story that everyone can enjoy.

Anyways, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	5. An Unseen Evil

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 5**

**An Unseen Evil**

* * *

Ahsoka released a sigh as she lay back in her seat, relaxing after her lunch and letting her stomach settle as she closed her mind to the many chattering voices that filled The Manarai restaurant.

She was alone now; Lux had gone to pay for their meal, while Vaila had insisted on freshening up in the restroom, allowing the young Togruta a moment to herself as she sank back into the soft chair and began reflecting on her day so far.

Ahsoka turned her head to the window beside their table which looked down on the vast cityscape of Coruscant; she could see both the Jedi temple and the senate building clearly, along with the thousands of moving speeders and ships which looked more like ants from the immense height at which she was viewing them from.

Grasping her moment alone, Ahsoka closed her eyes and relaxed her mind, reaching out with the force to the planet surface below her and sensing the presence of the millions of beings that were moving through the streets, buildings and skies of the city planet.

She blocked them out, deciding to focus on the temple alone. The old building had the strongest force presence on the planet, but even now it felt extremely weaker than usual; the absence of the many Jedi who were out fighting in the war was and would be clear to anyone who could use the force as she was now and it slightly saddened Ahsoka that the ranks of the Order had been stretched so thin.

The war had taken a lot from her; friends, teachers and even those she would have considered more as family despite the Jedi Code preventing her from openly proclaiming them so.

She had formed so many bonds over her short life, bonds she was sure were not as easily broken as the Jedi Code may insist they could be and it only then dawned on her that despite trying to keep with the code of the Order both as a person and as a Padawan, Ahsoka was finding it more and more difficult to truly understand what the Jedi had become, or at least quickly were becoming.

She sighed sadly, now wasn't the time to think about such things, she was supposed to be having fun today, not worrying about things that were beyond her control, even if she may have thought otherwise.

After withdrawing from the temple, Ahsoka moved her attention to the senate building. She remembered Anakin had been called their by the chancellor himself and she wanted to check up on him, knowing that his thoughts had been in a rather fragile state and that he would more than likely need some help calming down as he always did.

Ahsoka was sure she was the only one who knew him well enough to do it, she had found herself in so many situations when her master would suddenly lose control of his feelings and she was always the one able to calm him down, a thought that only proved to make her smirk as she envisioned their rolls being reversed and she pictured herself being the one to teach him something rather than the other way around.

It was only when she reached out to the deeper chambers of the dome shaped senate building that Ahsoka suddenly felt a massive force presence which seemed to push her back as she touched it.

The strange energy seemed to be blocking her from feeling the life force of any who were present in the building and also seemed to manifest itself from the area in and around the chancellor's office.

She tried to push at the barrier, though again, she felt it force her back and just as she had begun to grasp what the source of the strange power was, her train of thought was shattered, as a sharp pain penetrated her mind, making her retract from the invisible barrier and shoot up suddenly from her relaxed position as the pain struck, leaving her panting furiously as beads of sweat ran down her forehead and now twitching cheeks.

Whatever this foreign energy was, it didn't want her or anyone else probing it, a thought that both intrigued and frightened Ahsoka as she took in a long breath and attempted to gather herself after the attack.

She had learned long ago that entities such as the one she had just encountered were the work of the dark side and that such things should not be tampered with nor fought unless one is a master of the force which she evidently was not.

"Ahsoka?" Vaila's worried call broke Ahsoka out of her daze as she turned to see the young Twi'lek striding towards her.

Ahsoka shuck her head slowly, realising that the attack on her senses had left her a bit more dazed than she had at first thought and she bearly even noticed that Vaila was next to her now, kneeling and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Ahsoka! What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost" the concern was as evident in the young Twi'lek's voice as it was on her face as she tightened her grip on Ahsoka's shoulder.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and turned to face Vaila who looked at her worryingly, "It's… It's nothing, really, I'm ok" she replied with a slight shake in her voice.

Vaila didn't seem to believe her, "You don't look ok" she said with a serious tone as she moved her hand from Ahsoka's shoulder to her left hand, taking it in both of her own and looking into the shaken Togruta's darkened blue eyes.

Lux must have also seen her distress as he too had arrived with a worried look on his face, "Is everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just… stood up too quickly is all. All better now" Ahsoka replied, exaggerating her smile and laughing awkwardly as she attempted to stand up only to collapse back down almost instantly.

Lux frowned, "You look like you need some air, come on, let's go outside" he said, nodding at Vaila as the young Twi'lek placed her free hand on Ahsoka's back in an effort to help her stand.

Vaila then stood up as Ahsoka followed, the young Twi'lek keeping a hold of her friends hand and back with her own as the Togruta drew in another breath and took a moment to steady her legs.

"I'm ok Vaila, I promise" Ahsoka tried to reassure her friend, a weak smile crossing her features as she sensed the concern that plagued Vaila's thoughts.

Vaila released Ahsoka's hand but stayed close to her as she steadied, "Ok, but… don't scare me like that ever again" she replied with a small but worry filled smile before taking a small step back.

Ahsoka nodded, "I'll try" she said, leaning her head to the side and returning the Twi'lek's smile with her own.

Lux then ushered Ahsoka and Vaila out of out of The Manarai in order to get some fresh air before they left Monument Plaza, leading the two young Padawan's into the main square beyond.

The trio then walked around the centre of the plaza in silence, Ahsoka sensing the worry which Vaila was still feeling for her as they completed their circuit, while also sensing confusion from Lux, along with a strange inner conflict with his feelings, though she could not quite grasp what it truly was and did not pursue the matter as her mind drifted back to what she had sensed in the senate building.

"There is something troubling you" Lux said suddenly as they came to a stop in the centre of the plaza and in front of Umate's towering peak.

Ahsoka dropped her head in an attempt to disguise her obvious worry, "I'm fine, really" she replied, trying her best to sound as subtle as possible, though she knew Lux wasn't buying into it.

Lux sighed, "Just promise me you won't go rushing into things" he said cautiously, "I know that look" he added with a small smirk.

Ahsoka smiled, she didn't want to worry either Lux or Vaila, nor did she want to put them in danger, "Like I said, I'm fine and I promise I won't rush into anything, besides, I'm not exactly in the right state to rush at all" she smirked, holding her injured right arm up to emphasize her point, or rather, her scapegoat.

Lux smiled with a low chuckle, "It never stopped you before" he replied, before turning and taking a step back so he was facing both Padawan's, "I guess it's about time Ii made my way to the senate for my speech, can I convince you both to join me?" he asked sounding hopeful as he looked at them both.

Vaila turned her head briefly to look at Ahsoka, a sign that the young Twi'lek was waiting for her to make the decision for them both.

Ahsoka nodded with a small smile, "I guess we could tag along, as long as it's okay with Vaila?" she asked, turning to face her friend.

"Oh, of course… I guess it's about time I visited the senate building" Vaila replied with a smile of her own.

"Then it's settled" Lux announced with a wide grin, "Let's get back to the ship, I'll rehearse my speech to you both, I'm sure a Jedi's opinion is more valuable than one of my servants, wouldn't you think so?" he asked with a smirk, he was directing the question specifically at Ahsoka.

"Great…" she replied sarcastically, earning a small giggle from Vaila as they began their walk back towards the landing platform.

The trio then boarded Lux's senate airbus once more, beginning their journey to the senate building as Ahsoka struggled to make a decision as to what she should do with the revelation that the Dark Side was at work in the last place anyone would have expected.

Once the craft was on its way, Ahsoka quickly grabbed Vaila's arm and led her to the other end of the ship as Lux talked with the pilot. She didn't want him to know what she was about to tell Vaila in case it would distract him from his negotiations, though, she also didn't want to put Lux in any sort of danger.

Vaila took a seat in the same booth they had used on the earlier journey as Ahsoka took the seat opposite her, a hard sigh escaping her lips as she began to rethink revealing what she was about to say to her young Twi'lek friend.

"What's this all about?" Vaila asked with a hint of worry as she frowned and leaned her head to the side.

Ahsoka sighed once more, "It's about what happened at the restaurant and, why I was so shaken" she replied, a look of worry returning to her features.

Vaila's eyes widened, "I knew there was something wrong" she said worriedly before reaching over the small table to take a hold of Ahsoka's left hand.

"I was… reaching out to the planet's surface; I wanted to see how far I could reach using the force. I started with the temple, and then…" she paused for a second, her look turning serious "…I turned to the senate building and I sensed… the dark side, or at least something off the dark side, a barrier of some sort, it was hiding something, or someone"

Vaila looked both worried and confused as she tightened her grip on Ahsoka's hand, "A dark side presence? In the senate? How is that even possible?" she asked, her eyes widening once more as she tightened her grip on the Togruta's hand.

Ahsoka's head dropped slightly, "I don't know, but I have to find out what's causing it. I must be the only Jedi to have sensed it; otherwise there would have been some sort of investigation already" she lifted her head more, locking her large blue eyes with Vaila's, "I was hoping we could do it together, that way we can be sure of what it is and report it to the council"

Vaila leaned her head to the side a little more and smiled, "Of course I'll help you, why wouldn't I?" she asked, her features softening.

Ahsoka returned her smile, "Thanks, Vaila" she replied softly, "And… don't tell Lux. I don't want to involve him in case we land ourselves in trouble" she continued, turning her gaze towards the front of the shuttle where Lux was talking to someone on a portable holopad.

Ahsoka kept her eyes on the young senator for a few seconds as he talked to a well-dressed figure on the small device. Her eyes softened and she felt herself smile as she gazed at him, though she quickly shook herself out of her daze and turned her attention back to Vaila who was now staring of out the window of the craft and watching as the many buildings and ships passed them by.

In her mind, Ahsoka cursed herself for telling Vaila of her findings, she didn't want to put either her or Lux in any kind of danger that she was most likely going to encounter once they arrived at the senate building, though she felt she could not do it alone.

Whatever was going on in the dome shaped building was probably more than two Padawan's could handle, but this was her discovery and she wanted to make sure she knew every fact possible before reporting to the council with her findings.

It seemed like a longer period of time, but Ahsoka was still a little surprised when their transport came to a sudden stop on one of the many landing platforms that circled the middle of the dome shaped senate building, though it came as even more of a surprise when Lux gave her a small frown as he realised she had not been listening to his speech as Vaila obviously had.

"Sorry" she said with a small giggle as they disembarked from the small craft and began to make their way into and through the large building.

Lux laughed, "No you're not" he replied, "But, I forgive you"

Ahsoka smiled softy at him before turning to look at Vaila, though she was surprised when she seen a slightly distressed look on the young Twi'lek's face, _"She must sense it too"_ she thought to herself they made their way through the rounded corridor, before finally coming to a stop at the entrance to Onderon's repulsorpod station which would take Lux into the Grand Convocation Chamber beyond.

"Well, it's almost time for my speech. I trust you too can keep yourselves occupied while I make my presentation to the senate?" Lux asked as he turned to face the pair, a slightly nervous look on his face as he let loose a long sigh.

Ahsoka nodded with a smile, "I'm sure we can find something to do, break a leg" she said, trying not to be too obvious while also attempting to raise Lux's confidence.

"Good luck in there" Vaila added quickly, giving Lux a smile of her own as she rubbed her left forearm and her cheeks turned a soft shade of purple.

Lux smiled at them both, "Thanks, I'll do my best. Can I expect to see you both afterwards?" he asked with a hopeful look.

Ahsoka nodded, "We'll be here when you get back" she replied with a smile, "Now get in their" she added with a playful push and a small giggle.

Lux laughed, "Okay, okay" he said with a grin before finally making his was though the door to his station and disappearing into the senates the Grand Convocation Chamber.

After the door to Lux's station closed, Vaila then turned to face Ahsoka once more, "I guess we should start looking for this dark side presence" she said with a more serious look.

Ahsoka nodded, "Yeah" she replied simple, feeling a little distracted before she snapped herself back to reality, "We should split up, I'll head east and you head west, we can meet on the other side of the building and decide what to do from their" she said, going through the plan in her head as she tried to determine the best course of action.

Vaila nodded, "Alright, but… just promise you won't rush into anything if you find something before reaching me. We should face whatever this is together" she said, the young Twi'lek's expression softening as she once again rubbed her left arm shyly.

Ahsoka nodded with a reassuring smile, "I promise we'll take on this together" she replied with a small nod, "See you on the other side" she added quickly, before turning and inwardly preparing herself for whatever lay ahead.

Being closer to the dark presence made Ahsoka feel a little uneasy a she slowly made her way down the long, circular corridor. The entire building seemed to reek of the dark side, though now seemed it manifested itself in the centre if the building now, where as it had been nearer the Chancellor's offices earlier.

Ahsoka concluded that whatever this dark presence was, it must now be inside the Grand Convocation Chamber, which meant that it was someone, not something that she had been sensing, but _"Who could possibly be in league with the dark side?"_ she asked herself, keeping her mind fixed on her surroundings as she slowed her pace and opened her senses enough to scan the presence without alerting it to her investigation, and at the back of her mind, began to worry if Lux was safe, knowing he too was in the same place that the dark shadow now loomed over.

It was only when Ahsoka was about half way around the massive dome shaped building that a more familiar presence entered her senses as she was distracted from her task and instead looked ahead to the on-going corridor.

Ahsoka eyes widened and a smile spread across her face as she spotted the person she had been sensing, "Master!" she shouted, her walk turning into a small run as she all but forgot about her investigation as well as her worries and with a feeling of relief, Ahsoka embraced her mentor, Anakin Skywalker.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this latest instalment to the re-write. This chapter was really meant as a tie-in to the next stage of the story so it's not really as important as what's still to come so I apologise if it was a little boring, I promise things will pick up again in the next update.

From here on in I'll be changing a lot of things that happened in the original story but not so much that it will be unrecognisable. When I started writing this I didn't really know it would evolve so much that I'd begin to write a prequel so there's one or two things I'll be adding in order to tie both stories together.

Also, I've recently had the idea that I may write a few stories that will tie in to this one from other views besides Ahsoka's and Vaila's, I have a couple of rough drafts for stories that would look at things from both Anakin and Shaak Ti's point of views which I may write and upload along with Ascension but I'm not really sure. So, if you would like to see some extra stories added on to this series feel free to let me know in a review or by PM, I'm all about keeping you guys happy so your opinions are always very much appreciated.

Anyways, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	6. Shadow In The Senate

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 6**

**Shadow In The Senate**

* * *

Ahsoka broke her embrace with Anakin after he didn't return it with his own, she looked into his icy blue eyes and sensed he was more troubled then he had been when they had met earlier that day.

She gave him a concerned look and took a step back. His face looked like it had been drained of all colour and was as white as a clone trooper's armour, added to that she could sense a deeper conflict raging deep in his already broken thoughts, over what, she did not yet know, but she was determined to find out.

"Master… Are you ok?" she asked, concern etched across her face as well as being evident in her voice.

He gave her a soft but obviously fake smile, "You're popping out of everywhere today, aren't you Snips?" he was dodging her question, "So, what are you doing here?" he asked, continuing to fake a smile.

Ahsoka frowned, she didn't want to let the matter go that easily, she was worried about Anakin to the point she had almost forgotten about the task at hand, "Master, I know something's troubling you, like there's something troubling me and I don't want to just stand aside while you suffer just like you wouldn't if I was" she said with a tone of understanding.

Anakin sighed in defeat, "I know, Ahsoka… but you can't help me with this… I don't think anyone can…" he replied simply, a look of desperation crossing his features as he placed his hand on his Padawan's shoulder

"I'm sorry you feel that way…" Ahsoka replied with a sigh of her own, "I'll leave you to it then…" she added as she turned to leave, a heavy feeling settling on her heart that seemed a little too familiar, though she didn't understand why.

It was then that Ahsoka once again felt Anakin's hand take a gentle hold of her shoulder, "Ahsoka… don't walk away like that" he said, his voice shaking, "…Not again"

Ahsoka turned back to face him, "Master?" she asked simply, though her face told the story of her confusion.

Anakin was about to reply when a shout came from the far end of the corridor. Ahsoka didn't notice it at first but she soon snapped out of her confused daze when she spied Vaila running towards them with worry evident on her face.

The young Twi'lek came to a quick and sudden halt in front of them both, her eyes widening and a nervous looking expression crossing her features as Anakin turned to face the one who had called his Padawan's name.

"I… I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Vaila asked with a nervous shake in her voice, a shake Ahsoka recognised from when she had first met the girl that morning as well as her first encounter with Lux back at the Jedi temple.

Ahsoka sighed, she wanted to pursue whatever was troubling her master, as well as why this sudden look of distress that had taken over his features when she had tried to walk away from him. All of that however would now have to wait and though she was slightly frustrated, Ahsoka was somewhat glad that Vaila had arrived when she did, sensing and deep down knowing that Anakin would not tell her what she so desperately wanted to know.

Anakin raised an eyebrow as he turned his gaze toward Vaila; a look of suspicion crossing his face as the young Twi'lek shyly rubbed her left forearm and stared at the ground below her, "A friend of yours, Ahsoka?" Anakin asked simply.

Ahsoka smiled as Vaila briefly lifted her gaze towards her, "Yes, Master" she replied, "This is Vaila, she's a Jedi and clan mate to Master Aayla" she added, taking a step towards her friend and gently tapping her shoulder.

Anakin folded his arms, "I don't recall Aayla ever mentioning a fellow clan mate was a member of the Order" he said thoughtfully, as his suspicious stare persisted.

Ahsoka cast her eyes up to the ceiling, her master was always very cautious around people he didn't know, it was a sense of mistrust she had seen in him a lot since they first met, "Master, be nice" she elbowed him with her left arm, earning an agitated glance in return, "Sorry…" she mumbled, dropping her head.

"Anakin Skywalker, it's nice to meet you Vaila" he said, offering his hand which the young Twi'lek as he returned his gaze toward her.

Vaila shuck his hand briefly, trying her best not to look as nervous as she obviously was, "Vai… Vaila Secura" she replied with a low but shy mumble, "It's… nice to meet you too, Master Skywalker" she added, smiling briefly as she returned her right hand to her forearm and blushed.

Ahsoka was about to interject when the sound of a rapturous applause came from inside the Grand Convocation Chamber, followed by the familiar voice of Chancellor Palpatine, "…and let me be the first to welcome Onderon into the republic, not as a Chancellor, but as a friend" there was another round of applause within which Ahsoka could hear Lux say "Thank you Chancellor Palpatine" before the chamber once again fell silent.

A brief but awkward silence then overtook the corridor as Anakin seemed to drift away into thought, while Ahsoka and Vaila stood quietly side by side; awaiting something or someone to break the moment that now felt more like an uncomfortable eternity.

It was only then that the beeping sound of Anakin's communicator broke the silence between the three Jedi and once again Ahsoka heard the all too familiar voice of the supreme chancellor, though this time, it was emanating from the small device which her master had removed from one of his pockets.

The chancellor's figure appeared as a flickering blue hologram on the small round machine as he seemed to smile and bow respectfully upon seeing the Jedi Knight, "Ah Anakin, forgive for taking so long to contact you. The senate has been keeping me occupied all day" the elder man greeted with a dignified tone.

Anakin bowed respectfully, "It's no trouble, your Excellency, I was just hoping for an audience with you before I returned to the temple" he said, a look of both anticipation and concern on his features as he stared down at the device.

"But of course my young friend, I will be happy to…" Palpatine started before seeming fix his eyes on Ahsoka, "Ah, Padawan Tano, we were just talking about you" he said with a small smirk which made her feel more than a little uncomfortable.

Ahsoka never really trusted the Chancellor, he had an air about him that had always worried her and he was also very close to her master, however she had never spoken of her dislike of him openly, nor did she want to as she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and bowed lightly towards the small hologram while also raising an eye marking.

"We? Your Excellency?" she enquired simply, though deep down she knew whom the old man was referring to.

"Yes. Your friend, Senator Bonteri and I are just finalising the treaty that will see Onderon join the Republic but keep a neutral stance as long as the war continues. It is a lucky coincidence you were to meet your master, you both should join us in my office immediately to celebrate" he turned again to face Vaila, "Oh and of course your friend is more than welcome to join us also" he said, smiling brightly at Vaila who shyly dropped her head and gave an awkward bow towards the flickering image.

"We would be… honoured to join you, sir" Ahsoka replied simply, trying her best to sound as respectful as possible while also hiding her distaste toward the old man.

The Chancellor smiled, "Very good, we await your arrival with great anticipation" he said with another bow before the image disappeared once more from the small communicator and the corridor once again fell silent.

Anakin powered down the device, placing it back in his pocket before turning to face Ahsoka, "Well, I guess I'm stuck with you for a bit longer Snips" he said with a small smirk.

Ahsoka placed her left arm on top of her broken right one, trying to look like she was folding them and smirking back at him, "You know you can't get rid of me that easily Skyguy" she said, earning a surprising but low chuckle from her master as his thoughts seemed to calm a little.

Anakin then led Ahsoka and Vaila along the corridors of the senate building towards the office of the Chancellor and as they skimmed past the many openings to the Grand Convocation Chamber, Ahsoka couldn't help but feel more than a little anxious to ask Vaila if she had discovered anything, while also noticing that the young Twi'lek still looked troubled.

Ahsoka then took a chance in between talking with Anakin to raise her eyebrows and give the young Twi'lek a questioning stare, receiving a disappointed shake of the head in return, though Ahsoka smiled in an attempt to raise her spirits, realising that Vaila could be a bit more fragile at times like this when things were uncertain.

They arrived at Chancellor Palpatine's office soon after, receiving confirmation from the two heavily armoured guards at the door before entering the large circular office which was now filled with delegates from Onderon as well as other senators who were either interested or just too curious to see how the final negotiations went.

Ahsoka and Vaila followed behind Anakin as the made their way to the front of the small crowd, Ahsoka instantly noticing Lux who was sitting with his back to them in a chair in front of Palpatine's desk and writing something on a large white document.

Ahsoka took note of the paper which she guessed was a very rarely used product in the galaxy, unless of course it was used for very important occasions such as this; she also guessed it was the actual treaty and that this would be the final act before Lux's home planet was finally accepted into the Republic as a neutral ally, a fact that made her smile inwardly as she remembered the moment Lux had told her he would bring Onderon into the Republic thanks to her actions during the rebellion.

Lux finished signing the large sheet before sliding the document across the desk to Palpatine who turned it around and signed it himself, reaching across the table to shake Lux's hand shortly after as the room began to echo with applause.

The two then stood and faced the crowed, the chancellor gesturing for them to quiet down as he finalised the agreement, "It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome Onderon into our great Republic as well as you, Senator Bonteri" he said, turning to face Lux, "Having one so young yet so eager to prove himself on such a grand stage is admirable on its own and I look forward to working closely with you in the near future" Palpatine finished, once again shaking Lux's hand before gesturing the crowd out of his office and leaving the large room empty, say for himself, Lux and the three Jedi that now stood before him.

"Ah there you all are" Palpatine said with a smile before walking slowly from Lux's side and approaching them, "Good to see you Anakin" he said, placing his hand on the Knights shoulder while also acknowledging both Ahsoka and Vaila with a small nod.

The two Padawan's bowed together respectfully, earning another smile from the aging Chancellor as he turned fully to face them, "It is such a joy to see such promising young Jedi as yourselves, the future of the order is bright indeed" he said thoughtfully as her turned back to face Anakin but not before Ahsoka noticed a slightly sinister smile cross his face, though she thought nothing of it and decided to take this opportunity to speak to Vaila.

"I was about to send word that you could both find me here, I hope you didn't have to wait long" Lux said as he inadvertently broke Ahsoka's train of thought, though in truth, she was happy to see him again.

Ahsoka smiled, "We managed" she said, before moving to give Lux a small hug, "Congratulations… Senator" she added softly as he returned her embrace with his own and sighed happily.

"It seems harder to believe than it should" Lux replied as they broke apart, "Thank you, Ahsoka" he added with a smile of his own before Vaila also added her own congratulations with a small bow.

"Lux?" Ahsoka finally asked, her thoughts returning to the task at hand as she briefly switched her gaze between the young Senator and Vaila, "I need to speak to Vaila about… girl stuff, can we have a moment" she asked, trying and failing to sound credible.

Lux shot Ahsoka a confused look before nodding, "Oh, of course, go right ahead" he replied with a tone of reluctance and a small nod before turning and making his way toward the window which looked out on Coruscant's vast cityscape.

Ahsoka then quickly led Vaila to a small sofa built into the wall of the office, gesturing for the girl to join her as she sat on one side of the soft couch and quickly made sure no one would hear what they were speaking about, "So? Did you find anything" she asked, turning to her side to look at Vaila.

The young Twi'lek dropped her head once again, "It was strange, It seemed to manifest itself in the centre of the building, but every time I got close to finding its exact source I felt a sharp attack on my senses which threw me off" she said, frowning as she recalled her supposed failure.

Ahsoka gently lifted Vaila's chin up with her left hand, "Hey, don't look so down Vaila. The same thing happened to me when I tried to break its barrier on Umate, it obviously doesn't want to be found" she said, giving her friend a reassuring smile as she came to the conclusion that this was not a matter for her to deal with and that it should be the Council that deals with this disturbance.

Vaila smiled softly, "Sorry… I mean… I'm so bad at this!" she said, a small giggle escaping her lips as her thoughts finally settled.

Ahsoka joined in with Vaila's giggles, "You're too cute, you know that?" she asked happily, before standing up from the red sofa and offering her hand to the young Twi'lek, "Come on, let's go celebrate with Lux, we'll worry about it later" Ahsoka added with another small smile as Vaila took her hand and stood up beside her.

"I hope everything's ok?" Lux said with a hint of concern as the Padawan pair joined him at the window and looked out towards the city.

Ahsoka grinned, "Nothing to worry about, Senator" she replied, her smile brightening.

Lux chuckled, "I'll never live this down, will I?" he asked though his laughter as he turned to the now giggling Togruta.

Ahsoka was about to reply when she spotted Anakin walking towards them, a look of trepidation on his face as he came to a stop and greeted Lux with a bow before turning his attention towards his Padawan.

"Ahsoka, I need to speak to the Chancellor privately, can I trust you and Vaila to make sure Senator Bonteri is kept safe while he's here" Anakin asked with a dignified yet slightly sarcastic smile as he looked down at her.

Ahsoka shot him an equally sarcastic grin, "As you wish, my master" she replied with a sigh of reluctance.

"Snippy as always" Anakin said underneath his breath as he chuckled and turned to face the Chancellor who had now made his way to the Jedi Knights side.

"I am sorry my young friends, but unfortunately I have something very important to discuss with Master Skywalker. We will speak again soon I'm sure, Senator Bonteri" Palpatine said with a small smile as he bowed to them.

"Of course your Excellency, I look forward to it" Lux replied with a bow of his own before turning to walk towards the door with the Chancellor at his side.

Ahsoka was about to join Vaila who had followed when Anakin took a light hold of her left arm and turned her to face him, "Sorry Snips, I haven't been completely open with you lately and I know how you must feel" he said, a look of regret crossing his features as he sighed and looked away from her.

"Master?" Ahsoka asked simply, "I understand, you don't need to apologise…"

"But I do" Anakin interrupted her "I've been keeping things from you, things you deserve to know after all you've been through and for now on, I'm going to be completely honest with you" he said, a small smile as well as a look of relief appearing on his face as Anakin placed his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, "How about we meet up tomorrow in the room of a thousand fountains, I'll explain everything to you then"

Ahsoka smiled softly, "I'd like that" she replied, earning another smile from her master as he sighed, again looking relieved and as if the weight of the entire galaxy was about to be lifted off his shoulders, even if his on-going inner conflict told her otherwise.

Anakin then walked side by side with his Padawan toward the waiting Chancellor who stood talking to Lux, while Vaila continued to rub her left forearm nervously in the presence of the old man.

"Until we meet again, my young friends" Palpatine said with yet another dignified smile as he gestured Ahsoka, Vaila and Lux out into the awaiting corridor.

The three then bowed in unison before leaving the Chancellor's office, Ahsoka leaving her master with another soft smile as the door to the large room closed and he gave her one of his own along with a small nod.

Lux then led the Padawan pair back to the landing platform where the airbus they had used earlier was waiting for them.

Ahsoka smiled as she noticed the young senator was having a conversation with Vaila as they entered the ship, a sight that made her feel all the more happier as she realised her newest friend had opened up a lot since their first meeting and seemed to be more comfortable than she had been upon meeting Lux too.

"No, I insist" Lux replied as Vaila shuck her head and broke Ahsoka out of her slight daze.

"Insist on what?" she asked, interjecting the conversation as she caught up with her friends and took her seat in the now all too familiar booth.

Lux ginned, "Haven't you been listening?" he asked with a small laugh, "I was just insisting to Vaila that you both come back to my penthouse for dinner, it's the least I can do after you both kept me company today"

Ahsoka suddenly felt her heart begin to pound a little more, "Why not?" she asked with a tone of excitement and sounding a little more enthusiastic than she perhaps should have been, though Lux didn't seem to notice.

"Great" Lux replied happily, "I'll let the pilot know we're ready, don't run off on me" he said, giving Ahsoka a look as he chuckled and made his way to the front of the craft.

The ship then left the senate building behind as Ahsoka stared out the window towards the part of the building her master and Chancellor Palpatine were at that very moment having their conversation, she could have sworn she seen a bright blue beam emanate from one of the windows before the airbus rose above it, but she was just as quick to forget it as she turned to talk to Vaila.

It was only then that Ahsoka felt a slight tremor in the Force as well as the return of the dark side presence, though again; she pushed the feelings away, knowing it was not within her power to confront whatever the source of the disturbance while she also only wanted to concentrate on having fun with Lux and Vaila and look forward to spending some time with her master for the first time since her reassignment.

What Ahsoka didn't know however, was that a chain of events had now been set in motion that would change not only her life, but the lives of every inhabitant that called the galaxy home.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes:** Phew, it feels great to get this chapter done!

Thanks as always for reading guys. I really enjoyed re-writing this chapter and I hope you had as much enjoyment reading it. I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone have been leaving reviews, I really do appreciate it and enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions as well as your tips, it helps a lot!

Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating this story on a more regular basis for now on before getting the next story uploaded.

Anyways, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	7. Conflict Of Heart

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 7**

**Conflict Of Heart**

* * *

The short trip to Lux's penthouse went by as fast as the Coruscant skyline, though for Ahsoka, it felt more like an age.

Something was taking place in the senate building that involved the dark side of a force and it was only upon leaving that she truly felt the extent of that mysterious power reveal itself, "_Maybe that's why Anakin was visiting the Chancellor, maybe he was aware of it and asked him investigate it"_, she thought to herself, though she also sensed something was wrong with her master other than what he had said he wanted to talk to her about the following day.

She tried to push these thoughts back again, if anyone could handle such a situation, _"It would be Anakin",_ she told herself, he was the strongest Jedi she had ever encountered and he thrived in bad situations, besides, she couldn't do much in her present state to help him, so why dwell on it?

Ahsoka stood from her seat and walked over towards one of the small crafts windows as she stared out at the passing skyline.

She took a deep breath and released, relaxing herself and withdrawing from the world around her. It was only then that she realised Vaila was standing next to her.

"You okay?" the young Twi'lek asked softly, placing her hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. Vaila could obviously sense her discomfort.

Ahsoka smiled lightly, "I'm fine Vaila, really" she replied, trying to sound normal, though she knew her friend was more than smart enough to catch her out.

Vaila then moved her right hand in a swift motion and grabbed Ahsoka's lightsaber from her belt before igniting it, "A Jedi should never let her guard down, Master Aayla always told me that" she said, grinning and letting the plasma blade retract back.

Ahsoka took her weapon back from Vaila's offering hand before placing it back on her belt with a sigh, "This weapon is your life!" she said, deepening her voice in an attempt to mimic her master and laughing as she coughed from tightening her throat.

Vaila giggled in response, "That's not nice" she said, turning her gaze to the world on the other side of the window as the airbus came to a stop and began its descent towards a small landing pad on the side of one of Corucant's penthouse towers.

Lux, who had once again been chatting to the pilot, returned to cabin and gestured for them to join with him and exit the small craft.

As she disembarked from the ship, Ahsoka noticed the sun had begun to set and the sky was slowly turning a familiar bright yellow as the afternoon slowly crept into evening.

She tried to tell the time by looking at the position of the sun, a simple exercise her master had made her learn in case she ever need to know the exact time, _"Four hours past noon"_ she guessed as she joined Lux and Vaila in walking across the small landing platform towards the two story penthouse.

Ahsoka took quick glances around the massive first floor as she entered; the floor was made of an orangey wood, the walls were orange too and there was unusually shaped furniture spread around the room.

The whole setup reminded her of Lux's mansion on Raxus, so much so in fact that she would have sworn she was back there, the door to the gardens where she had first spoken to Lux at her back rather than the exit to the landing pad they had just walked from.

"Make yourselves at home" Lux announced before turning to face both Padawan's and gesturing to one of the large sofa's that ran in a broken circle at the far end of the room near a large window that looked out across the cityscape.

"Welcome back, Master Lux" the voice of a young woman came from the adjoining corridor as Lux turned and small smile spread across his face.

"Thank you, Shari, I hope it wasn't too much of a struggle to set everything up?" he asked as the girl stepped into the room.

She was about a year or two older than Ahsoka, with long golden blonde hair which fell freely down her back, she also worse a knee high cream dress with golden designs and a pair of gold coloured boots that made her look more like a princess than a mere servant, a though that made Ahsoka feel a little uneasy for some reason as she seen her smile as Lux before bowing and turning to face into the room.

"It was no trouble, sir. I hope everything is to your liking, shall I get dinner started for you and your guests?" the girl asked with another smile as she briefly looked towards the Padawan pair.

Lux nodded, "Yes, thank you Shari and feel free to take the rest of the evening off afterwards if you wish, you have all done more work than I would have expected today and deserve a rest" he replied with another small smile.

"You're very welcome, Master Lux, I'll inform the rest of the girls at once and thank you for the kind offer" Shari replied with another bow before smiling towards Ahsoka and Vaila and making her way back down the corridor toward what Ahsoka presumed was the kitchen.

"Well then, like I said, make yourselves at home" Lux announced once more before gesturing them both into the large living area.

Ahsoka instantly noticed that the position of the window was such that both the Jedi Temple and the Senate building could be seen, as well as the area in between as she fell back into the soft sofa and stretched out, relishing the comfort and savouring the great view in front of her.

Vaila then sat a bit away from her and was joined by Lux and Ahsoka noticed he was getting close to her, a little too close for her liking, though she dismissed such thoughts as quick as they came.

Ahsoka tried to turn away but found herself feeling a little bit hearted, Vaila too looked a little uneasy but seemed to be forcing herself through her shyness.

Lux, on the other hand was pushing her to the limit, going so far as to place his hand in hers for a brief moment before she pulled away and blushed and it was then that Ahsoka had seen enough.

"Hey! Uh… how about we help start on dinner, it sounded like your servants have had a long day, Vaila and I can help out, right?" she asked, almost leaping out of her comfortable position.

Vaila quickly followed and made her way to Ahsoka's side, "Ye… Yeah, I am a little hungry" she said, stuttering slightly as her cheeks turned a soft shade of purple.

There was a brief but awkward silence before Lux seemed regain his senses, "Oh, of course, I'll help too" he said quickly, before gesturing for them to follow as he made his way into the corridor that led kitchen area on the east side of the penthouse.

Ahsoka felt a slight sense of unease but overall was consumed by something even worse, jealousy, a trait no Jedi should ever hold. Such feelings were forbidden in the order, though it had not been the first time she had experienced it.

Her mind flashed back to the rebellion on Onderon, she remembered the moment her heart sank upon seeing Steela Gerrera kiss Lux. She swore then that it would never happen again, but here she was, once again struggling with her conscience and trying to regain her focus, all she could think about was Lux, how much he inadvertently tortured her with his actions, how her drove her heart crazy when he was around others, but most of all, how much he meant to her.

"Ahsoka? Are you okay?" Vaila asked with an obvious tone of worry in her voice as she placed a hand on Ahsoka's left shoulder.

Ahsoka didn't even realise that she had stopped dead in her tracks and let a couple of tears fall down her cheeks, "I…" she struggled to find the words, "I need some air!" she shouted, pushing past Vaila as she headed towards the glass door witch then led out to the penthouse's balcony.

The large glass panel swung to the right to let Ahsoka though before slamming shut behind her, the cold evening air hitting her like a bucket of ice as she reached the low stone wall that stopped her from almost mindlessly walking over the edge and falling to the busy streets below.

She slammed her left hand, now in a fist, on the top of the hard stone, tears were rushing freely from her blue eyes and there was an unbearable heavy feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach. Every passing second seemed like an eternity and as hard as she tried to there was no escaping the uncontrollable wave of confusion and fear that was now sweeping over her.

Ahsoka didn't even notice when the large glass door swung open once again and Vaila rushed after her clearly troubled friend. The young Twi'lek hugged her arms to her sides in a failed attempt to fight the ever dropping temperature before letting go and instead swinging them around Ahsoka just as she looked like she was going to fall over the edge.

Vaila dug her arms into the distraught Togruta, hugging her as close as possible in an attempt to help calm her, though it didn't seem to be working.

"Ahsoka, please… talk to me" Vaila pleaded, her own voice beginning to crack as tears began to stream down her smooth blue cheeks.

The only response Ahsoka could give another string of sobs and low gasps as she felt Vaila hug her closer, sensing that her friends concern had boiled over while also realising that Vaila's fragile nature had been hit hard by what she was doing

"Please… please stop crying…" Vaila said with a whimper and there was a hint of desperation in her shaken voice that only helped to make Ahsoka feel worse than she already did.

Ahsoka took in a few long broken breaths as she tried to calm herself. Her heart and her mind were racing and she found it hard to concentrate on what exactly was happening around her, "Vaila…" she said, mustering all of her strength into speaking which surprised and shocked her.

She frowned, believing she was being weak, a trait she would never have placed upon herself before today, though that was just it, today was supposed to be fun, it was supposed to be the day she was to break out of the seclusion of the temple and be happy and yet, here she was, struggling with feeling she didn't understand and causing her newest and best friend just as much pain as she herself was now feeling.

Ahsoka then felt Vaila lay her head on her back, "Everything's going to be okay" the young Twi'lek whispered, making her tone as reassuring and soft as she could.

Ahsoka tapped her left hand on Vaila's arms, "I… I'm ok Vaila… I just need some time" she said, once again struggling to get the words out, though Vaila seemed to understand, releasing her embrace and stepping back.

"No Ahsoka, you're not!" she said, almost shouting as her voice cracked once again, "I haven't sensed this much conflict in anyone since…" she paused, her head dropping as though she was embarrassed, "Since my mother was forced to let me go"

Ahsoka spun around to face her now weeping friend, for a moment forgetting her troubles as she instinctively grabbed Vaila into an embrace as they both began crying openly.

Ahsoka wished Vaila had not followed her out to the balcony, not because she was angry but because she didn't want to pile all her troubles onto her vulnerable friends shoulders, though that was exactly what had happened and more.

Vaila had not yet spoken about her life before becoming a Jedi and Ahsoka now knew why; it was obvious the memory of being forced to leave her family was one she was still struggling with even after so many years.

"We're… a mess you and me" Ahsoka whispered, trying to force a laugh through her sobbing as she pulled the young Twi'lek closer.

Vaila too tried to laugh, but was not as successful, "I… just can't stand that memory, I wish I could forget it, but I can't!" she cried, digging her head into Ahsoka's shoulder as another stream of tears escaped Vaila's now bloodshot eyes.

"I'm so sorry Vaila… this is all my fault" Ahsoka whispered softly, sliding her hand up and down the weeping Twi'lek's back in an attempt to comfort her while trying and failing to hold back her own tears.

Muffled crying was the only response Vaila could make, though it was clear she was trying to calm herself down too, though she seemed to be struggling to do so.

"Ahsoka" Vaila whispered, lifting her head slightly for the Togruta's shoulder, "Thank you… for being my friend" she said, her voice shaking slightly as she let out a long sigh.

Ahsoka lifted her friends head and placed her forehead against her own so that they were looking into each other's eyes.

"No Vaila, thank you" Ahsoka replied with a small, soft smiling, "We're friends, best friends, we'll always be there for each other for now on, nothing held back. We're going to get through this, together" Ahsoka smiled again as she finished, earning a brief but genuine smile in return.

Vaila closed her eyes and sniffed, letting out another low sigh of relief and regaining her senses as she tilted her head to the side, "Promise me?" she whispered the plea, her voice still a little shaky.

Ahsoka smiled once more as she looked into Vaila's bright green eyes, "I promise" she replied, again smiling reassuringly as she felt her stomach settle and heavy feeling that had plagued her lessen slightly, though not fully.

Another long breath escaped Vaila's lips as she smiled softly and took a step back, "Then tell me, why are you so troubled all of a sudden?" she asked, looking both seriously and worryingly into Ahsoka's eyes as she rubbed her own with her fists.

Ahsoka dropped her head upon hearing the question, slightly regretting her promise, though she wanted and needed to let her feelings out to someone and right now, there was no one she trusted more than her best friend.

"I…" Ahsoka paused again, trying to muster the courage to tell Vaila the truth, "I think… I think I'm in lo…"

Ahsoka was cut off mid-sentence as the sound of the glass panel door once again sliding open cut thought the silence and Lux rushed out on to the balcony.

Ahsoka turned to face him, instantly noticing a worried expression on his face as he looked wide eyed at both Padawan's.

"What's going on? Have you two been… crying?" he asked, his tone mirroring his look of genuine worry as he took another step closer to the pair.

Vaila finally lifted her head to look at him before looking back at Ahsoka whose Lekku had suddenly darkened slightly.

The Twi'lek she smiled softly at her friend and nodded, "We're… fine senator, but, I think Ahsoka needs to talk to you" Vaila spoke quickly before wiping the last of the drying tears from her eyes.

Lux looked at both of them, his look of worry mixing with confusion before settling his eyes on the equally confused looking Ahsoka, "I… don't understand" he said, though Vaila didn't seem to pay any attention as she walked by him towards the entrance to the penthouse.

"I'll start dinner" she said, smiling again at both of them before bowing slightly and re-entering the building before finally disappearing into the corridor that led to the kitchen area.

Ahsoka shifted awkwardly in her position and dropped her head to the side as she felt Lux's eyes lock on to her. Once again her mind began to spin with confusing thoughts and she could hear Lux slowly approach her, his footsteps slow and a little nervy before he eventually came to a stop about a foot in front of her.

She closed her eyes, hoping to herself that this was all just a dream and she would wake up on the small craft that carried them here, though she knew such a thought was as crazy as it sounded.

"Ahsoka?" Lux called her name in a low tone; he was close enough to see she was in distress though he struggled with himself in deciding what he should do.

A few slightly awkward moments passed before Ahsoka finally looked up at him and almost leaped into his arms, embracing him with her left arm as she began to weep once again, "Hold me…" she finally whispered, her voice cracking once again.

Lux didn't even think before returning her embrace, even as a non-force user he could sense her inner conflict by merely looking into Ahsoka's darkened blue eyes and this brought with it a new wave of worry for her.

"I'm here Ahsoka, it's okay, everything is going to be okay" he said, trying his best to reassure and calm the shaken Togruta as she cried into his shoulder.

Ahsoka broke away slightly before locking her eyes with his. She stared at him, never blinking, never speaking and for a brief few seconds not even breathing.

All of her inner conflict seemed to wash away as she lost herself in the brown depths of his clear eyes and she found an unending peace within them.

Her own eyes softened as she felt his grip on her loosen a little, giving her a little freedom to move, though she didn't want to back away from him. Instead she moved closer, closer than she perhaps should have, but at that very moment, nothing else mattered.

She let her eyes close as and relaxed herself into his arms, finally finding the words she had been so desperate to say to him since the last time they had seen each other, words she knew no Jedi could or should ever say, but words that she felt with all her heart needed to be said.

"I love you"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks as always for reading guys. I'm finally up to date with all of my content for FFn so I can promise that updates will be coming in pairs of two every weekend for now as promised from the beginning while I'll also be uploading the first chapter in this story's prequel very, very soon.

But anyway, back to the story and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had intended from the start for there to be an element of romance between Ahsoka and Lux but I was worried I'd get it completely wrong and mess it up. But I did my best and I hope you guys liked it.

Thanks again for all the support and the reviews, you guys are the best and I'm not just saying that!

Also I just have a quick message and question for you all. Although the last two weeks have been busy I did find a little time to start a kind of spin off story to this one which pretty much concentrates on my OC, Vaila. I was just wondering if you would be interested in reading something like that as I'm sure a lot of you are probably thinking "Who is this Vaila character?" So, if you're interested, head over to my profile and check out 'Vaila' and also feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions as always, they're always much appreciated.

Again, thanks so much as always for reading guys and I will catch you all next time. Cheers!


	8. A Kiss At Sunset

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 8**

**A Kiss At Sunset**

* * *

Ahsoka gazed deeply into Lux's eyes as he did hers, the setting sun behind them making for a perfect and beautiful scene as she finally expressed her true feelings for him.

"I love you"

Three words she had never uttered to anyone and never thought she would, but at that moment, nothing else mattered to her. All the pain and sadness she had been feeling over the past two months was washed away in that instant only to be replaced by a warm and comforting feeling she had never before experienced and never wanted to go away.

It was strange, the moment felt perfect and yet something still seemed to eat away at her as Ahsoka felt a final tear slide down her already flushed cheek. Her mind seemed to flash with images that she couldn't comprehend, images of a past that never happened, or had it? She didn't know, but she also didn't have time to think about it.

"Ahsoka…" Lux's features softened as he spoke her name with a soft and loving tone, "I love you too" he smiled as he said it and she could tell he meant it, with all his heart.

That was all the encouragement she needed. The moment had taken over her very being and she lost control of herself, then again, she never truly felt in control when she was around him.

She pushed her worries aside as she lent in and locked her lips with his, tightening her one armed embrace as she kissed him, letting free all the passion and love she had been holding back for all the years she had known him.

She felt him smile into her kiss as he returned it with his own, a feeling that made her lekku stripes darken more than they ever had before.

Lux moved his hands to her waist as she wrapped her arm around the back of his neck, deepening their kiss even more and prolonging it as long as possible, neither of them wanted it to end until at last the need to breathe overtook them and Ahsoka flashed back to reality, the world seeming to be a brighter place than it had been before.

She dropped her gaze to the ground as she sighed and started panting, relishing the cool, fresh air as it filled her lungs once again.

She felt Lux lean his head in so that her forehead was supported by his and they locked eyes once again, he was smiling, she loved his smile, it made her feel uncontrollably giddy but also happy at the same time.

She smiled back at him, both were panting for air as if there was not much left in the world and Ahsoka giggled a little though her breaths, he had almost literally taken her breath away, and she his.

"And not a Mandalorian in sight" Lux said though a small laugh as he continued to take in air and sounding a little awkward as he spoke.

Ahsoka returned his smile, "Was that a joke Lux?" she asked cheekily, remembering back to the last time she they had been in this position and how angry and confused she had been when he forced her first kiss on her for the sake of keeping their cover.

It had been such a long time ago now, but even then Ahsoka felt she held feelings for him, feelings she had thought she had conquered on Onderon not so long ago but even then she knew it would never be that easy.

Lux's light laughter once again broke Ahsoka out of her short daze as he slowly realised one of his hand from her back and gently caressed her cheek, "Ahsoka… you are truly beautiful, you're perfect, I…" he paused, she could tell he had been holding these words in for a while, "I've loved you since the day we first spoke in the gardens of my home on Raxus, you were the most beautiful thing in that garden, more beautiful than the most perfect flower at the peak of spring" he continued, blushing a little but keeping his smile intact, she knew he meant every word.

Ahsoka's lekku flared up again and she grabbed him into another kiss, albeit shorter this time but just as passionate and meaningful, "I love you, Lux" she said, holding back tears as she slowly pulled away from him, though this time they were tears of joy.

She wrapped her arm around his neck again and pulled him into a hug, savouring the warmth as she laid her chin on his shoulder and sighed calmly.

He returned her hug with his own, making small circles on her exposed back as he closed his eyes and sank into the moment, "I love you too, Ahsoka" he whispered, his warm breath making her back lek shiver as he spoke and she once again relaxed into his arms.

Ahsoka couldn't help but smile again as she stared at the setting sun, her thoughts were spiralling out of control as they had been since she had arrived at Lux's penthouse, but she pushed them away, she didn't care about anything or anyone else but Lux at that moment, she had even managed to push Vaila to the back of her mind, a feat she was not all that proud off as she was still very worried about the fragile Twi'lek, though she knew everything would work out.

There was nothing in the galaxy Ahsoka thought she couldn't do, nothing that she, Lux and Vaila couldn't get through as long as they had each other. Vaila was her friend, her best friend and she cared about the young Twi'lek just as much as she cared for her Master even though they had only just met that morning.

Ahsoka didn't care about forming attachments anymore, she loved Lux, she cared for Vaila and Anakin and she wanted to do everything in her power to make each and every one of them as happy as she was right now.

She still had worries, but Lux quickly took her mind away from such things, a thought that made her sigh happily once again as he gently broke their embrace and kissed her on the cheek, then once again on the lips before looking into her eyes and smiling softly.

"We should get back inside before Vaila gets suspicious" he said, moving his left hand and gently caressing her injured right forearm with his and thumb again causing her to shiver at his soft touch.

Ahsoka gently placed her hand on top of his and looked back though the glass to the penthouse behind them, contemplating whether or not she should tell the young Twi'lek what had happened, though she suspected she may have already known.

She felt a brief sting of regret at her actions, it wasn't the first time she had stretched or even broken the Jedi Code but this was going beyond the limit of what a Jedi can and cannot do.

Vaila was devoted to the Jedi way, but Ahsoka was sure she would understand, she had almost told her after all and most importantly, she trusted Vaila, even though she had not known her long, Ahsoka knew her, their secret, would be safe with her new best friend.

"You're right, let's go" Ahsoka said with a small nod before placing her hand in his as she began to walk towards the glass panel door. Lux didn't make a move, "What's wrong?" she asked a hint of concern in both her voice and on her face.

Lux gave her a small look that mimicked her own, "You want to walk in holding my hand?" he asked with a similar tone as her own.

Ahsoka giggled, and yanked him closer in attempt to make him walk with her, "It's ok, Vaila will understand, she's my best friend" she said as she pulled him closer and smiling to reassure him as she once again felt that she could trust Vaila.

Lux nodded but didn't look convinced, "If you say so. But if you're wrong and the Jedi council find out, you'll be expelled" he added with concern.

Ahsoka smiled softly, "That won't happen. I trust Vaila; she wouldn't do that to me, to either of us. She's my best friend and I know she'd never betray my trust, like I wouldn't betray hers" she said with a nod as she once again pulled lightly at his hand.

Lux tilted his head slightly "You're cute when you're serious" he said with a smirk.

She slapped his hand playfully before intertwining their fingers once again, "Don't change the subject" she said with a giggle and earning a light smile from the young senator in return.

Ahsoka then pulled at his arm again in an attempt to coax him into following, which he did, though a little gingerly.

Eventually they made their way into the large kitchen that was cut off from the main building by a short glass tube tunnel that looked out at a similar view as the balcony.

Vaila had already begun cooking them dinner with the help of the few servants that Lux had brought with him and seemed to be getting along well with them as the enthusiastic Shari led the small group from the centre of the room.

Ahsoka took in another deep breath through her nose, the entire room smelled delicious, making her empty stomach growl as she looked at the many steaming pots and glowing ovens that took up half of the kitchen.

Vaila smiled brightly as she seen them enter; though her look quickly changed to one of slight surprise as she noticed the pair were holding each other's hands.

Ahsoka quickly explained the situation and told her about what had happened between her and Lux, earning differing looks from the young Twi'lek but overall encouragement.

Vaila smiled once again and embraced them both, "I promise, I'll never tell a soul, you have my word", she said with an unusual air of giddy happiness that only made Ahsoka smile even more as she and Lux returned the young Twi'lek's dual embrace with their own

Ahsoka was glad that Vaila had sworn to keep their relationship a secret and it was also a promise that seemed to calm Lux and wipe away any worry that Ahsoka may have still had left plaguing her mind.

They sat down to dinner soon after, Ahsoka throwing her table manners out the window as she dug into the rather large meal Vaila, Shari and Lux's servants had prepaid prepared for them.

Vaila and Lux both laughed as she scarfed down a piece of Kommerken steak, almost chocking though she quickly took a gulp of water to wash the food down, "Leave me alone!" she said with an exaggerated tone before stuffing another piece into her mouth and chewing, an equally exaggerated frown strewn across her face as she did.

They spent the rest of the meal talking and discussing things including each other's pasts, though most of the time it was surprisingly Vaila who was speaking, finally opening up to both Ahsoka and Lux about her brief childhood on Ryloth, her training as an initiate under Master Plo Koon, her many adventures with Aayla and her most recent life as a masterless Padawan.

Ahsoka had smiled and listened throughout as Vaila revealed that she had never really trusted anyone enough to tell her story until she had gotten to know each of them and though she refused to tell them why Aayla had not taken her on as an apprentice herself, she had still revealed a lot about herself.

Lux too had smiled throughout Vaila's stories and Ahsoka could sense a great weight being lifted off the young Twi'lek's shoulders as she spoke. It had warmed her heart that Vaila felt she was in a position to speak more openly about her past to them both while she also respected her and understood that some things should be left in the past were they belong.

"I hope everything is too your liking?" Shari spoke happily as she walked into the dining room

Lux nodded, "Perfect as always Shari, yourself, Vaila and the rest of the girls did a fantastic job" he said with a smile as he turned his gaze to the young Twi'lek as she blushed slightly.

Shari bowed, "You're too kind master Lux, I've told the other girls to take the night off, but I insist on staying behind to clean up a little, if you don't mind? I'm a little tiered after the trip from Onderon" the girl said with a small yawn.

Lux smiled once more, "Of course, Shari, but I must insist on helping you" he said with a nod, "And I will have no objections, you've worked harder to make this trip possible than anyone else and deserve some help for once" he added as she looked at him with surprise evident on her face.

"Again, you're too kind, master" she replied with another bow before smiling at both Ahsoka and Vail once more and then quickly exiting the room to the kitchen beyond.

"So I can't convince you to stay a little longer?" asked Lux with a slight tone of sadness as he escorted the two Padawan's back to the landing pad and the awaiting ship.

Ahsoka turned on her heels and and grabbed his hand, pulling him into another small kiss as she gazed into his eyes, "Sorry Lux, we can meet again tomorrow, all three of us" she said, smiling lightly as she once again felt herself getting lost in his brown depths.

Vaila smiled shyly upon seeing them kiss before giving out a low giggle, "You two are… so cute together" she said with a slight nervousness to her voice as she smiled softly.

"I look forward to it, beautiful" Lux replied with a loving smile as he once again caressed Ahsoka's cheek with his hand and adding a final small kiss.

Ahsoka Lekku darkened once more as she reluctantly let Lux's hand go before joining Vaila in the doorway of the craft that would take them back to the Jedi temple.

"Let's go" she said with a nod before turning back to look at Lux as the ships doors slid shut, she waved and placed her hand on the cool glass as another flashback seemed to come and go through her mind, though she quickly forgot about it as she seen Lux smile and return her wave with his own as the craft rose into the sky.

"We should meet for breakfast tomorrow morning, all of us" Vaila spoke as they took a seat on the now all too familiar booth at the back of the small craft.

Ahsoka smiled brightly and nodded, "Yeah, it's a date" she giggled, gently nudging her friends arm with her own as they both stared out the window at the setting sun.

It didn't take long before the pair arrived back at the Jedi Temple and the craft docked on the ancient buildings hanger landing pad and the Padawan pair once again stepped into the large bay that was now a hive of activity with engineers, clones, droids and Jedi alike rushing around.

Ahsoka and Vaila then boarded the elevator, the Togruta insisting that her best friend come with her to her room for a final chat before they would both settle in for the night though their plans were quickly put on hold when the sound of Vaila communicator beeped from her pocket and she quickly removed the small device and activated it to answer the call.

"Padawan Vaila" she said, her tone sounding more formal then Ahsoka was used to as she held the comm to her mouth.

"Padawan Secura, this is Master Windu" the voice of the Mace Windu filled the elevator as Vaila's features turned slightly shy once again, "The council has come to a decision in relation to your apprenticeship and we'd like to speak to you in the main chamber immediately" said the all too familiar voice of the Jedi Master.

Vaila gave Ahsoka a sad look, it was obvious she didn't want to leave, but Ahsoka could also sense a growing excitement in the young Twi'lek as the prospect of being assigned to a master began welling up inside her friend. She smiled and nodded.

"Of… of course Master, I will make my way to you at once" Vaila replied with a shy stutter as she once again held the small arm comm to her lips.

"Good, we await your arrival, Windu out" Master Windu replied quickly before the comm deactivated and the elevator fell silent once again.

The elevator came to a stop on the floor were Ahsoka's quarters were located and she felt a small hint of sadness upon accepting that Vaila had to leave her, though deep down, she was also overjoyed that the young Twi'lek may finally be assigned to a Jedi Master like she deserved to be.

"Hey, good luck up there, and tell me everything in the morning okay?" Ahsoka spoke softly as she pulled the worried looking Twi'lek into a light hug.

Vaila returned her hug, "Thank you… I wish I didn't have to leave… I guess I'm a little excited at the same time though" she replied as she began to rub left forearm out of shy habit.

Ahsoka smirked, "A little?" she asked with a giggle as she sensed the excitement building up in Vaila's mind, "You'll be fin, I promise, you'll tell me all about it in the morning at breakfast, right?"

Vaila smiled nervously, "Right… and… thank you, Ahsoka" she replied with a smile as she pulled the Togruta into another hug, "Thank you for being with me today, you're a true friend" Vaila added as yet another warm feeling filled Ahsoka's heart.

"So are you, silly" Ahsoka said as she returned the Twi'lek's hug, "Well, you better get going, good luck, Vaila" she added as she gently broke their embrace and stepped backwards out of the elevator, "May the force be with you, Vaila Secura" she said with a wide smile.

Vaila returned her smile with a soft grin of her own, "May the force be with you, Ahsoka Tano" she replied happily as the doors of the large glass cylinder closed once more and the elevator began its ascent towards the Jedi Temples main hall and the Council chamber beyond.

Ahsoka kept her gaze fixed on the elevator before as it disappeared into the sky, hoping with all her heart that Vaila would be assigned to a Jedi Knight that would understand and care for her as much as Anakin did with her.

She smiled as she finally turned and began the short trip to her quarter, quickening her pace into a light skip as she made her way down the corridor and feeling as though she was the happiest person in the whole galaxy.

It had been a day filled with all the excitement of ten for her. She had made a new friend, expressed her love for Lux and finally let go of all the heavy feelings she had been carrying for months, there was nothing that could spoil her mood now, at least nothing she could think off and she that was the last thing she had on her mind.

Ahsoka smiled uncontrollably as she reached the door to her quarters, entering to find the same little blue bird as that morning sitting on the outside of her window as she smiled and let out a light and cheerful sigh.

She approached the window and looked into the small but bright eyes of the bird and smiled again as it turned to look up at her, "Did you have as good a day as I did little one?" she asked, giggling to herself as she slowly reached for the control panel which would open the window.

The beeping sound of the small holocomm on her desk however drew Ahsoka away from the window; the small blue steel disc vibrating almost violently across the small wooden table as she turned and quickly made her way to her desk.

She took a seat and activated the small device, stopping its vibration almost instantly as a small blue figure appeared in front of her.

She smiled brightly, her heart once again filling with warmth as she bowed and greeted one of her oldest and dearest friends, "Koh-to-ya Master Plo"

"Koh-to-ya little 'Soka"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Hey guys, hope, as always, that you enjoyed this chapter; I wanted to get some of this stuff out of the way as we're now very, very close to Order 66, but I also tried to be as descriptive as possible and I hope it was okay for you all.

I'm actually really happy with how this part of the story turned out after being re-written. The ending of the chapter always seemed so rushed but I'm glad I can finally sit here and say I'm satisfied with how it's put down and of course I hope you all feel the same way.

Anyways, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time. Cheers!

**Added Note: **Just to let you guys also know. The prequel to this chapter, Ascension, is currently up and going in the Clone Wars section of the site, so if you're enjoying this story so far I'd really appreciate if you checked the prequel out too, cheers :)


	9. As Darkness Falls

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 9**

**As Darkness Falls**

* * *

Ahsoka's smile only grew as Master Plo Koon returned their usual greeting, "Koh-to-ya little 'Soka, it is good to see your face again" the elderly Kel Dor said as his features softened and she knew he was smiling underneath his facemask.

"It's always nice to hear from you Mater Plo, it's been too long" she replied, her own features softening as Ahsoka remembered back to the last time they had spoken just after she had returned to the Jedi temple two months ago with her injury.

"I hope I am not disturbing you little one, I sense you have a lot on your mind" The Jedi Master observed with a hint of concern in his voice, though overall he sounded his usual calm self.

Ahsoka was quick to push her feelings back, she was still thinking about Lux, "Of course not Master, I've just had a busy day is all" she replied, exaggerating a smile more than she would have liked but he didn't seem to notice.

The elder Jedi chuckled, "Well, I am happy that you are still as active as ever, broken arm and all" he said with a happy tone as he seemed to turn his gaze toward her sling, "Which brings me to the reason I am calling you today. I have a gift for you, Ahsoka"

Ahsoka's eyes widened with surprise, it was not often that the Jedi received gifts, especially from each other; in fact, the only members of the order to ever give her a gift had been Anakin and of course Master Koon.

He would always give her a gift on her birthday, another event the Jedi rarely celebrated, though one her never forgot about.

"A gift, Master?" Ahsoka asked curiously, her voice almost squeaking as she couldn't help but be a little excited at the prospect.

Master Koon chuckled again, "Yes and something I think you will appreciate" he spoke as he sat down on what seemed to be a mediation platform, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his knees before looking back at her, "Remove your sling and bandage, Ahsoka"

She hesitated at first, unsure of what exactly was happening but eventually undid the white sling and removed the glove like bandage from her arm, hissing a little at the pain as she tried to straighten her arm before she held it up in order to show the elder Jedi.

"Now" he said, upon seeing her work, "Sit and relax, this may be slightly painful, but when I am finished your arm will be completely healed" he added with an air of calm as he gestured toward the nearby bed.

Ahsoka felt another rush of excitement as she sat on her bed, crossing her legs in the same manner as the Jedi Master and relaxing her mind.

There was a moment of silence before she could feel the familiar presence of Master Koon swirl around her.

She had read about such forms of mediation healing, but that it was a difficult feat for anyone but a Jedi Master and therefore had not thought of it until now.

Suddenly, she felt a small sting followed then by a sudden and burning sensation as the bones of her arm began to twitch and move.

She gritted her teeth, holding back tears as small waves of pain shot though her and her arm was slowly and delicately repaired though the force.

She remembered back to when she first returned to the temple with the injury and being asked if she would like to use a bacta tank to accelerate the healing process, something she refused, she didn't like them, in her eyes they only covered up the external damage and left the inside weaker than before, something she knew she wouldn't be able to live with if she were to return to active duty too early.

The process went on for a few long minutes, Ahsoka keeping herself together as she felt a few stray tears slide down her cheeks.

It hurt, maybe a little more than Master Plo would have wanted it to, but Ahsoka knew that this was a gift she could and would not turn down easily.

Another long moment passed, before a low cracking sound echoed though the dead silence of her room followed by a sharp stabbing feeling which made Ahsoka yelp as her slightly stinging blue eyes shot open.

The pain subsided quickly, and for the first time in two long months, Ahsoka felt a wave of relief was over her as she realised she could move her right arm freely, a feat that made her smile uncontrollably as she flexed and turned her arm without feeling any trace of the previous pain.

"Thank you so much master!" Ahsoka said with a wide smile as she turned her attention back to the small hologram on her desk and took her seat once more.

Master Koon stood with a slightly heavy sigh, she could tell it had taken a lot for him to do what he did for her, " There is no need to thank me Little 'Soka, your smile is all the thanks I need" he replied happily as his features softened once again.

"No master, I have to thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me" she replied with another wide smile though she was slightly surprised to see the Jedi Master frown a little.

"It is the least I could have done, Ahsoka, after all you have been through…" he spoke a little cryptically, though Ahsoka didn't really notice as she picked up the small device and once again took a cross legged position on her bed and placed the holocomm in front of her.

Ahsoka quickly hopped of her bed and opened her dresser, removing her regular armguard and fingerless leather glove before moving back to her bed.

She then slipped her arm into the final piece of her attire and again took a seat on her bed, flexing her arm once more in order to both test it and to show the Kel Dor Jedi Master the result of his gift to her.

The voice of a clone trooper then sounded through the holocomm, though Ahsoka couldn't quite make out what he had said.

"Very good commander, prepare my ship for the assault and I will join you soon" Master Koon replied, is voice turning a little more formal before he faced Ahsoka again, "I am sorry Little 'Soka but we must postpone our conversation until another time" he added, a small hint of sadness in his voice as Ahsoka realised he sounded like she was feeling.

"Don't apologise Master" she replied with a small smile, "Master Skywalker told me Master Kenobi was on his way to defeat General Grievous and that the war will be over soon, we'll have plenty of time to talk when you return" she continued, realising and getting excited that soon the temple would be back to the way it was before the Clone Wars began almost four years earlier.

Master Koon nodded and Ahsoka knew he was smiling once again, "And I look forward to it Ahsoka, be safe my young friend, be safe" he said with a small bow before finally ending the call and disappearing from the desk.

Ahsoka returned his bow just as Plo Koon disappeared, her smile only growing as she lay back in her bed and stretched her right arm, enjoying the free movement she hadn't felt since before the droideka had crushed it so long again, "Be safe Master Plo, thank you".

She sighed lightly, before once again hopping off her bed and sitting on her chair as she turned to face the window much like she had the previous night, the dark orange glow on the horizon letting her know the sun had just about set and the late evening slowly crept across the city planet one again.

It had only been an hour since she and Vaila had arrived back at the temple And Ahsoka wondered how her friends meeting with the council had went as well as wondering if she had finally been assigned to a master.

She tried to reach out with the force to see if Vaila was in her room but was a little disappointed when she couldn't feel her presence.

Concluding that the young Twi'lek must still be with the council, Ahsoka reached out further, this time to Lux's penthouse and instantly felt the young senator's presence as she also felt a slight shiver run up her spine.

She smiled and touched his thoughts, "I love you"

Ahsoka felt a wave of happiness wash over him as she spoke with her mind to his, and though she knew he couldn't reply though the force, she knew he was sending his own love back to her, a fact that only helped to grow her smile a little more as she felt her heart pound in her chest.

She withdrew from Lux then, wanting to let him rest and dream about her as she would be dreaming about him.

There was one more person however that she still wanted to check on before settling down and retiring for the night.

Anakin, she was worried about him and the massive surge of dark energy that she had felt after leaving the senate building hadn't helped to calm her, even if she knew they would get to speak the next day.

She could sense he was not in the temple so she concentrated on the last place she had seen him, the Chancellors quarters.

Ahsoka yelped and flashed back to herself as the now all too familiar dark side energy shielded whatever was happening in the quarters from her and pushed back.

Her worry for her Master only increased, she couldn't sense him now, even when she went to the limits of where her power would let her and she concluded he must be with the Chancellor and whatever the source of the dark power was.

A sense of action suddenly washed over her and Ahsoka stood from her seat. Whatever was going on at senate building was the work of the dark side and it was her duty as a Jedi to investigate it; at least that's what she told herself, despite promising herself that she wouldn't get involved.

Ahsoka quickly checked her Lightsaber's and attached her communicator to her right armguard, instinctively activating it to one of the few frequencies she had learned off by heart and holding it up to her mouth.

"Rex, this is Ahsoka do you read… me…" she paused, suddenly remembering herself, the 501'st must be light-years away, she thought with a sigh of frustration before deactivating the device, she would have to do this alone.

Ahsoka was about to activate her door panel when a sharp and painful jolt shot through her, followed by an enormous disturbance in the force that made her entire body go limp, making her fall onto her bed.

She struggled to gain control of herself as the force itself seemed to attack her. She could hear the screams of hundreds before they all fell silent and with each scream came another sharp jolt of pain, eventually forcing her to struggle to keep conscious.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore; Ahsoka's entire body felt as though it was being torn apart and no matter how much she tried she could not escape it.

She gathered all of the strength she could muster to pull her knees up and hug them to her chest as her entire body twitched and shuck, the last of the painful waves slowly washing over her and she closed her eyes and drifted out of consciousness, her final thought the revelation that every jolt of pain she received was the death of a Jedi she had formed a bond with and that the first and most painful was that of the one Jedi she cared about more than any other, and with her last inkling of strength, Ahsoka let tears flow from her eyes and she painfully whispered his name.

"Master Plo…"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Well guys here we go, Order 66.

This chapter was always a little shorter than others so it's re-write doesn't add or take away much from the original as I was happy enough with how it turned out.

Ahsoka's arm being healed was important for me to get out of the way but I wasn't sure how I could handle it since she has a mistrust of the use of a bacta tank, so, I decided that since Master Plo is a Jedi Master and one of her closest friends, he should be the one to help her through the use of the force.

From here on in things will be getting a little more crazy with Order 66 and Operation Knightfall striking the Jedi Temple and I hope you all like what I have planned for the next few chapters.

I just want to say another quick thank you for all the support this re-write has received so far, I really appreciate it. And also, a very happy Fourth of July to all of my American readers!

Anyways, thank you guys once again for reading and I will catch you all next time, cheers!


	10. A Rude Awakening

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 10**

**A Rude Awakening**

* * *

Ahsoka stirred momentarily as she fought against the pain induced slumber that had suddenly and agonizingly overwhelmed her now weakened senses.

She tried to move but her body remained as numb and still as it had since she first collapsed onto her bed only moments earlier.

Her failed efforts only added to her frustration and grief as she struggled to come to terms with the deaths of the Jedi she had formed bonds of friendship with, bonds that had been slowly and painfully cut away from her like a lightsaber burn to her lekku.

With a small whimper, Ahsoka finally gave in to her predicament, _"Perhaps rest is the best thing"_ she told herself, though this strange form of sleep didn't seem to allow her to simply slip away into her dreams.

It was almost as though she was being kept from entering a proper sleep by the force itself, a thought that scared her more than anything else at that moment, what if she never awoke?

Now, Ahsoka was beginning to panic. No, she had to calm down, _"Perhaps the answer lies in the force itself"_ she thought, realising there was nothing stopping her from reaching out with her mind and touching the world around her.

Calming her mind and gathering her thoughts, Ahsoka let her subconscious sink into the force, drawing on the entities endless power in order to find a solution, but something was wrong.

The force seemed to be pulling her mind in deeper then she had ever dared delve in fear that she may be enticed by the dark side; she instinctively tried to fight it off but was rapidly losing the battle and a feeling of fear gripped her.

She began to panic again, feeling her breathing turn from slow and light breaths to a course of violent panting before a bright light seemed to flash though her, surrounding her in a cold embrace as an eerie silence seemed to take the world and then, suddenly, there was nothing, nothing but darkness, and peace.

Ahsoka felt herself relax as her mind was finally allowed to rest and recover; she began to have dreams, at least, she thought they were dreams.

First, Ahsoka could see the Jedi temple, it was burning, glowing a sickening colour of red and orange as the sound of screams and cries of anguish filled the air around her.

Then, with another flash of light, she was in the council chamber, witnessing a group of younglings as they were brutally cut down via lightsaber by a dark, hooded figure whose face she could not make out.

Ahsoka felt a tear run down her cheek as she watched a small Togrutan girl scream before being mercilessly cut down by the dark one, a sight that she wanted to look away from and yet, it felt like she was frozen in place, forced to watch as the innocence of the small Jedi initiates lost their lives to this evil and remorseless figure.

Her dream then flashed again, now there was heat, the unyielding heat of a burning planet where she now stood, viewing two figures in the distance as they struck at each other with blue beams of light that she knew were lightsabers.

She saw one of the figures jump from a floating platform before there seemed to be a pause, then, the other attempted to do the same, only to be cut to pieces by the lightsaber of the other and left to burn in the red hot liquid that covered the area.

Ahsoka thought she could hear a familiar voice cry out, "You… my brother... I loved you!" she knew the voice but for some reason could not bring her mind to fix on a name, but then, she wasn't given much time to think before she heard a pain filled scream erupt from the remains of the other figure, "I HATE YOU!" this time she was unsure who the voice belonged to, but again she recognised it and again she was unable to fix on a name.

There was another flash then, just as she seen the critically injured figure seemed to burst into flames and there was darkness once again.

She began to think her dream had ended before a dark, lingering, painful and spine chilling sound filled her head.

If Ahsoka could have widened her eyes in shock she would been doing so now, as the sound off a deep and powerful mechanical breath surrounded her, inhaling and exhaling slowly like a sleeping Krayt dragon but even more menacing.

Ahsoka once again began to panic; the sound was torturing her though she didn't know how or why. Her entire body seemed to scream out in pain as the breaths grew louder and the, out of the darkness, came a tall, menacing and shrouded figure.

It was then that Ahsoka's eyes shot open as she felt her body suddenly regain its strength and her mind once again became her own.

She sat up slowly, not wanting to collapse like she nearly had that morning when she had woken up in her chair.

Her room was pitch black now, as the sun had finally set and plunged the planet into night, she had been out cold for at least an hour if not more, though the clouded sky stopped her from correctly guessing the time by searching the stars.

Holding her hand to her forehead Ahsoka stood from her bed, lightly brushing her skirt down and rubbing a small bruised area on her stomach where her Shoto had dug into while she slept.

She made fists with her hands and rubbed her eyes, feeling the dried tears and lingering beads of sweat that had coated her soft orange cheeks and slowly began remembering what had happened.

She quickly shot into her refresher, filling the small sink in the corner with ice cold water before cupping her hands in the small pool and splashing it over her face.

Ahsoka stared at herself in the mirror for a brief moment as the small droplets of water streamed down her Lekku and began to drip of the ends, she noticed her eyes were bloodshot and the usual bright blue colour had turned slightly grey, an observation that made her blink several times like it would make the colour return though she quickly realised it wasn't going to work like that.

She dropped her gaze from the mirror to the water filled sink and another reflection of herself in the small rippling pool below.

Her thoughts raced through her like the rush hour traffic outside, though all she could hear were the names of those she had felt being torn away from her, "Luminara… Aayla… Master Plo…" she whispered only a few of their names to herself, each one feeling like a dagger to her heart as she struggled to come to terms with the fact that they were all now gone.

Tears began to form in the corners of Ahsoka's eyes again just as she heard a frantic knocking on her door and a voice call her name, "Padawan Tano… Ahsoka! Are you in there!" she instantly recognised the voice.

"Master Shaak Ti?" she said with another whimper before swiftly grabbing a towel and drying her soaked face as she made her way to the door and activated the small control panel to open it.

"Ahsoka, thank the force you're alive" the elder Togruta managed to greet her fellow Togruta through long and laboured gasps of breath as she pushed her way into Ahsoka's room and gestured for her to seal the door behind her.

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she closed her door and turned to face the elder Jedi, "Master, what's going on? You look exhausted" she asked with a tone and feeling of worry as panic once again began building in her thoughts and she suddenly could have sworn she heard laser fire in the halls below the dorm level.

Shaak Ti took a seat on Ahsoka's bed, her breathing becoming a little more levelled as she relaxed herself and turned her gaze back to the door, "The temple…" she said, pausing to take another deep breath, "The temple is under attack, Ahsoka, they're slaughtering everyone"

Ahsoka instinctively grabbed her lightsaber and looked around her, "How did the separatists find a way to attack us here?" she asked, her tone filled with action as she felt a rush of adrenalin wash over her.

The Jedi master dropped her head, an expression of sadness creeping across her face, "Not the Separatists, Ahsoka…" she paused again, as though contemplating whether or not to continue, "Clones!"

Ahsoka's eyes widened, "C… clones?" she stuttered the question, "No, there must be some mistake" she added with a shocked expression, though she feared Master Ti's next words.

"There is no mistake, Ahsoka, I seen them with my own eyes, they are here to kill each and every Jedi in the temple… even… "She paused again, "…Even younglings" Shaak Ti finally added and Ahsoka noticed there were tears in the elder Jedi's eyes.

Ahsoka took a step back and leaned herself against the wall of her room, there was a thousand and one questions running though her mind, _"Why is this happening? Were my dreams a vision of the future? Where is my master? Vaila? Lux? Are they safe" _And finally,_" What should I do?_" She asked herself all of these questions and more, before the sudden thought that she may have to fight her way out the temple became more and more a realistic plan then she would have wanted it to be.

"We have to evacuate!" Ahsoka finally broke the short silence, before pushing against the wall and walking to the Jedi Masters side, "If what you say is true, then they must outnumber us a thousand to one, our only chance is to get everyone out of here now!" she said, her tone sounding more like it had when giving orders during her days on the front lines as she quickly remembered who she was speaking to.

Shaak Ti looked up into her fellow Togruta's eyes and nodded, "You're right, Ahsoka, we don't stand a chance against them, the 501st are too many…"

Ahsoka's eyes widened again upon hearing mention of her old unit, her comrades, and her friends. "No…" she whispered, turning to look out her window as the small blue bird from earlier sat in the corner, shaking with fear as if it knew what was happening.

"I am sorry Ahsoka" Shaak Ti spoke with a sad tone as she stood from the bed and gently placed her her hand on the younger Togruta's shoulder.

Ahsoka felt a single tear slide sown her cheek before she shook herself back to reality, "I… I'm okay, let's just get out of here" she said, her voice shaking slightly as she made her way to her dresser and removed her backpack, before filling it with anything she would need or that meant anything to her, she then strapped it to her back and opened the door to the darkened corridor beyond and then turning back to face the Jedi Master.

"We will split up then" Shaak Ti said as she slowly exited the room and stood at the edge of the railing which overlooked the levels below. "You cover the top levels Ahsoka, there are fewer dangers up here and above, get as many to the eastern landing pad as you can"

Ahsoka nodded when a plan suddenly entered her head, "I can get us an extra ship, I have a… a friend nearby who can help us" she said, her mind fixing on Lux, she didn't want to involve him or endanger him, but right now she needed him more than ever before.

Shaak Ti turned to face her, "Do you trust this friend?" the elder Jedi asked, looking and sounding slightly cynical as her head tilted to the side.

"With my life" Ahsoka replied with a nod and a small smile in an attempt to convince the elder Togruta.

Shaak Ti sighed, "Okay then, I'll take the stairs to the bottom levels, fight my way to any survivors and tell them to head to the landing pad, I trust you to do the same, little one?" she asked.

Ahsoka nodded again, "I'll do my best, master, I promise" she replied as the sound of a small explosion echoed from the lower levels.

Shaak Ti managed a small but brief smile, "I know you will, Ahsoka, good luck and may the force be with you" she said as she turned to leave.

"May the force to be with you too, Master" Ahsoka replied with a bow as she readied herself to turn though was stopped when the Jedi Master called out her once again.

"Oh, one last thing" Shaak Ti said as she came to a stop mid stride, "My new Padawan, I left her with some younglings in the council chamber and told her to wait there, I wouldn't have asked, but I lost contact with her just before I arrived here, would you let her know our plan, Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka nodded but then froze just as she was about to turn, "Your Padawan, what is her name?" she asked, her tone filling with as much worry as her heart was and she suddenly dreaded hearing the elder Togruta's answer.

"Vaila" Master Ti replied, "Her name is, Vaila Secura"

Ahsoka didn't need to hear any more. She immediately began to run to the far end of the dark corridor and the staircase that led to the upper levels, raising a fist in the air in an attempt to acknowledge the elder Jedi Master though she already knew Master Ti had also begun to make her way down to other case of stairs and the lower levels that awaited below.

Ahsoka felt a sting of fear as she made it to the staircase and began to ascend it quicker than she ever thought she would or could, the thought of Vaila being in danger occupying one part of her mind, and the startling realisation that the events of her dreams were taking place around her occupying the rest as she quickened her pace even more and began to scream out between swift breaths.

"Please be okay! Please be okay! Oh force, Vaila, please be okay!"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for reading guys, I hope you don't mind this little cliff-hanger, I will warn you however that it is the first of a few to come :-P

As with the last chapter this one is a little shorter than others I have re-written, though again I felt that this chapter didn't need much added on to it apart from a little more detail and some spelling and grammar corrections (which I hope I was able to cover fully)

Seeing as these last two chapters have been shorter, I've decided to make it up to you all by making this a triple upload weekend, so, expect the next chapter _"Knightfall" _to be up and ready for you guys to read on Sunday night.

But yeah, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	11. Knightfall

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 11**

**Knightfall**

* * *

The sound of frantic blaster fire filled Ahsoka's montrals as she rapidly climbed the darkened stair case that spiralled up the Jedi temple.

The young Togruta's mind was overrun with worry while her body struggled to shake off the effects of the force attack she had suffered earlier that evening along with the increasing fatigue that came with climbing the distance to the floor on which the Jedi council chamber awaited.

Ahsoka finally came to a halt just before the staircase ended; wanting to catch her breath and ready herself for whatever might be waiting for her up ahead.

Master Ti had said that there was an entire clone legion attacking the temple, and the 501st at that, her former unit, meaning she probably knew most of them, a painful thought that sent a shiver up her spine as Ahsoka let out a small but sad smile.

What if she was forced to fight them, to kill them, that last thought hurt her the most. Ahsoka couldn't comprehend that her former comrades had turned against the Jedi, against her.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself, focusing her mind on the task at hand and trying not to think about it.

Ahsoka quickly formulated a plan to sneak past any clones she might encounter, she knew the temple better than them after all, that, and she wanted to avoid having to fight them unless it was absolutely necessary.

She took one last breath before slowly making her way up the last few stairs and finally stepping into the very dim light that bathed the large main hall of the Jedi temple a shade of twilight blue.

Making a silent run to one of the many pillars that dotted the massive hall, Ahsoka quickly scanned the darkness ahead for any danger, though in truth, she didn't have much time to do so.

She backed up against the pillar and slowly peaked out to get a better view. Directly in front of her stood a group of about six clones, all donning the blue and white battle armour of the 501st, a sight that removed any hope Ahsoka held that perhaps Master Ti had been wrong.

The group were standing in a circle, talking amongst themselves though Ahsoka could not make out exactly what they were saying.

She sensed conflict in a few of them, but mostly a complete determination to carry out a specific order, but _"Who would give such an order?"_ Ahsoka asked herself as a wave of confusion only added to her already scattered emotions.

Ahsoka then took a slight lapse in concentration from the clones as an opportunity to move closer, almost tiptoeing from pillar to pillar as the need, or rather the desire; to know what they were discussing drove her on.

She finally came to a stop at the foot of a small stair that, once climbed, led to the corridor that connected to the council chamber.

"What do you think he's going to be doing in there?" the familiar tone of a clone trooper came from behind her, a tone that would once have made her feel safe, though was now filling her with a fear she didn't really understand.

"Not sure" another replied, "Said something about it being too personal for clones to manage" the clone added with a scoff.

"Humph, what could be more personal than killing the people we've served with for almost our entire lives?" another clone asked, a hint of guilt in his tone that made Ahsoka feel a little hopeful.

"Look, the general just said to stand guard here until he comes back, follow your orders and we'll be out of here quicker" the last clone interjected, the sound of a hand playfully hitting the hard armour shell following soon after before the group began to make their way toward Ahsoka's position.

A sudden wave of panic wash over her as Ahsoka heard the clone's heavy footsteps getting closer and closer as she franticly tried to think of something, anything that would help her avoid confronting them.

She quickly pressed her back to the pillar and slid along its edge so that she had a better view of the opposite corridor and smiled as she seen a row of small chairs stacked along the inner wall.

Ahsoka took a silent breath before raising her right hand, drawing on the force as she reached for the stacked objects and, with a small push, knocked the chairs to the ground.

"What the…!?" the clone closest to Ahsoka shouted before re-joining the group behind him as they ran in the opposite direction to investigate the sudden crashing sound that had shattered the silence of the massive hall.

Ahsoka sighed with relief as a small smile crossed her lips and she took the opportunity to make a run for the corridor in front of her. She almost leaped into the air as her foot hit the first step though she made it no further.

A firm hand had gripped her left forearm, causing Ahsoka to yelp as she was pulled back, her arms being kept held behind her back and restricting access to both her lightsaber and shoto as she was focally pulled back from the corridors entrance.

"Let me g…" Ahsoka tried to shout before she was cut off by a cold, glove covered hand as it wrapped around her lips and she was dragged away from the corridor and towards the far end of the hall where the exit that led to the temples gardens awaited.

"Don't struggle" the low voice of a clone whispered, it was a calm but strong tone and one that she instantly recognised.

The cool night air made Ahsoka's skin shiver as she was led out into the gardens by the clone and though she had not continued to struggle, she still yanked gently on her captors holding hand as a silent plea to let her go.

Eventually they came to a stop in the middle of one of the meditation areas near the centre of the garden, an area Ahsoka remembered as the same place she and Vaila had visited that morning.

It was then that Ahsoka was freed from the clone's strong grip as she quickly took a quick step forward and drew her lightsaber, more as a precaution than anything else, she felt more than safe in the company of the one clone she trusted more than any other.

"Rex…" she silently spoke his name, almost whispering even, as the clone captain removed his helmet and looked at her gravely.

"Hey, kid" Rex replied with their usual greeting, smiling softly but painfully as he locked eyes with her and placed his helmet by his side.

Ahsoka could feel tears form in her own eyes; she hadn't seen nor heard from Rex since the mission to Shili six months prior and memories of that day when he had held her back as she, her master and he of course had witnessed the execution of innocent Togrutan prisoners by separatist invaders flooded back into her mind.

She remembered not speaking to him for a week after the incident, she was angry at both him and Anakin for not letting her save her people from the execution droids, though she knew deep down they had not choice at the time.

He had of course apologised to her the day before her reassignment and she had told him it was ok, she never could stay mad at him, or anybody for that matter.

"Rex… what's going on? Why are clones attacking the temple? Why are they killing Jedi?" Ahsoka almost screamed as she threw out just a few of the questions that were plaguing her hurting mind.

The captain seemed to gather himself before looking back through the thick foliage of the garden and towards the group of clones that had retaken their position in the main hall, "I… I don't know Comman… Ahsoka" he paused, remembering himself, she was no longer his commander after all.

"Torrent Company and a few other squads were transferred back to Coruscant a week ago for an unknown reason; we got new orders and were told to wait until we were called upon to carry them out. Then, well, here we are" he finished, a hint of regret in his voice as he turned his gaze back to the young Togruta.

Ahsoka only felt more confusion flood her mind as she let his words sink in, "Your new orders were to kill the Jedi?" she asked, though it more of a statement than a question, as she turned away from him, her emotions getting the best of her.

"No, that came later, only two hours ago in fact…" Rex replied quickly, "…And Torrent Company haven't even been involved in the fighting, I've only just arrived myself, I don't even know who's leading us!" he paused, looking back at the hall, "Those clones back there, they said they were under orders from a General Vader, but I've never heard that name before" Rex added, his voice filled with confusion.

Ahsoka reattached her lightsaber to her belt before wiping fresh tears from her stinging eyes as she turned to face Rex once again, "Vader?" her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

Only Jedi Masters were given the title of general in the Grand Army of the Republic and Ahsoka was sure she knew each and every one of them.

She could only conclude that this, General Vader, was not a Jedi, a conclusion that added to her many questions as she dropped her gaze to the ground.

Ahsoka thoughts were then briefly pulled away as she felt a familiar presence nearby, at first she thought it might be Vaila, but she wasn't sure. The presences identity was concealed from her for some reason and she just quickly forgot about it as she lifted her gaze back towards Rex, there were more important things to deal with, or so she thought.

"So, what are you going to do with me?" Ahsoka asked, turning her attention back to the clone captain as she asked the dreaded question with a small hint of fear in her voice.

Rex shifted uncomfortably in his position before sighing and dropping his gaze to the ground, "I won't be the one to…" he paused, returning his gaze to her, "I won't kill you… I can't kill you" he said, a look of determination in his eyes as he looked at her.

Ahsoka almost smiled but suddenly felt she couldn't, she was surprised to find herself being slightly suspicious of him, but she knew Rex was telling the truth, "Then help me, help me get to the landing pad with as many Jedi as I can, let us escape, you can say we forced you" she said, sounding hopeful.

Rex seemed to think for a minute before responding, "I… I don't know if I can, I've already disobeyed direct orders by talking to you…" he looked away, again slipping deep into thought, "I could try, but we have shoot on sight orders, I might be able to get you past members of Torrent Company, but the other units will be harder to convince" he finally said, seeming to have come up with a plan.

Ahsoka then felt a genuine smile cross her features as he finished, almost feeling the want to embrace him before thinking better of it, "Thank you Rex" she said, continuing to smile, "But first, I need to get to the council chamber, my friend is in there with a group of younglings and I want to get them out first"

Rex nodded, again turning his attention to the troops back in the main hall "I'll tell those troops to do a patrol of the floor below this then, are there any Jedi down there?" he asked, looking back at her.

Ahsoka shook her head, "No, most of the dorms below have been empty for months and as far as I know they were all empty when I left" she replied, though only after quickly scanning the floor below with the force to make sure of her words.

Rex nodded again before putting his helmet back on and turning back towards the main hall, "I'll go first then, wait until we've moved to the lower level before leaving the garden and I'll meet in the hall again when you're done. Be quick though, I don't know how long I can keep those men distracted" he finished, beginning to make his way out of the garden before stopping and looking back at her, "And… be careful kid" he added, earning a smile and a nod from Ahsoka before again turning away and walking towards the gardens exit.

Ahsoka watched on from behind some of the gardens foliage as Rex communed with the group of troopers who looked at each other briefly before finally following the captain into the darkness and towards the staircase she had not so long ago climbed.

She slowly made her way back through the dense foliage of the temple gardens and into the hall, though only after she was sure the group of clones had begun their descent and she had taken long look around to make sure she was clear.

Ahsoka let out a small sigh of relief as she backed up against the cool stone wall behind her and sliding down to a seated position for a moment as she grasped the opportunity to rest a little and reflect on what was going on around her.

"Have patience young one" she said in a low tone, quoting the words her master had been repeating over and over to her since she first became his Padawan, she sighed again, hoping that he was okay, that he was safe, though she knew he was more than capable of looking after himself.

Ahsoka had almost dozed off before being brought back to reality by her beeping communicator. She quickly shook her head and regained her senses before activating the small device, though only after she had looked to make sure the frequency was a safe one, it was, the safest of all actually.

"Lux!" she almost shouted but quickly covered her mouth, remembering the situation she was in.

"Ahsoka! Thank the Force you're ok, I can see the fire at the temple from my balcony, what's going on over there?" the young senator asked, his voice filled with concern.

Ahsoka quickly remembered back to her vision, the first thing it had shown her was the burning temple, now she was one hundred present sure she had seen the events before they had happened.

"The temple is under attack, I don't know why, but the 501st are here and they're under strict orders to kill any Jedi on sight" Ahsoka relayed the events to Lux quickly, she wanted to get to Vaila and the younglings before Rex and his troops returned after all.

"The 501st? But, that's a clone unit! Why are clones attacking the Jedi temple? We're supposed to be on the same side!" he shouted though the device, a hint of anger in his tone as he finished.

"I… I don't know…" Ahsoka managed to say as her voice broke and her emotions once again began to overwhelm her.

"Oh, Ahsoka" Lux said, his own voice breaking, "I'm coming to get you, I have to get you out of there, I can hide you, get you a new identity, anything! I will not lose you!" he said, his tone turning to one of sheer determination.

Ahsoka couldn't help but smile sadly as he finished, "I love you, Lux" she said, no longer trying to hold back her tears as the slowly streamed down her flushed orange cheeks.

"I love you too, Ahsoka" Lux replied softly, "Alright, I'll make my way to the temple in my speeder right away, where will I pick you up?"

Ahsoka was about to reply when she remembered what Master Ti had told her, she wasn't about to abandon her fellow Jedi, Vaila or the younglings, "No, wait! We'll need a bigger ship, at least one big enough to carry a group of younglings and Vaila, I can't just abandon them" she said, a tone of desperation added into her already shaky voice.

Lux sighed through the communicator, seeming to think for a moment, "It will be harder to avoid detection if we try something like that" he said, more to himself then her.

Ahsoka frowned, "But we have to try" she replied, trying to sound as positive as she could, though she knew she was failing.

Again, Lux seemed to take a moment to think, "Okay, but I would only be able to hide you and maybe Vaila, the younglings may be harder to hide" he said with a small hint of doubt in his voice.

"Don't worry, once we're clear of the temple, a Jedi Master will take them with her to safety" Ahsoka replied, again trying to sound positive.

"Alright then, It's settled, be quick though, every moment I know you're in danger is another dagger to my heart" Lux said, his tone once again softening as he finished, she knew he was smiling.

Ahsoka smiled herself, "I'll be a quick as possible, I promise" she said, "Land on the landing pad on the east side of the temple, we'll be waiting for you there"

"I'm on my way, be careful Ahsoka, I love you" Lux said, again in a soft tone.

"I love you too, be safe, Lux" Ahsoka replied with another wide smile, before her communicator went silent once again and she slowly stood up from her seated position.

Ahsoka quickly brushed herself down as she regained her balance and once again surveyed the area for any movement, to her relief, the hall was still empty.

She sighed, slowly beginning her way to the corridor that led to the council chamber as she smiled with the knowledge that Lux would be there soon to hold her as he had on his balcony earlier.

Ahsoka felt her heart beat a little faster was just about to turn into the smaller hall, though she was quickly brought back to reality when the familiar sound of plasma striking plasma filled her montrals, followed not long after by a pain filed scream that made Ahsoka hold her hands up to the sides of her head in an attempt to block it out.

It was then that she felt a sharp and painful jolt strike her heart, making her body go limb and fall to the ground in a heap, her head barely missing the first step of the small staircase that led to the council chamber corridor as she hit the cold stone floor beneath her.

Ahsoka fought for a moment against the pain, though like before she had no control over it as the force once again seemed to strike at her very being though even more so than it had in her room, as she felt a strong and meaningful force bond being slowly ripped away from her.

She once again tried to fight it off but this was more powerful than the previous attacks and she knew that someone she cared out and had formed a very strong bond with had fallen, just as Master Plo and the others had, and as she lay on the floor struggling to regain control of her body before she could slip out of consciousness once more, a single name escaped her lips and she broke into pain filled tears for the one Jedi she hoped and prayed she would never be forced to say goodbye to.

"…Anakin…"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

******Author's Notes: **And that will do it for the triple upload weekend! :-)

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, again this was once meant to be the second last instalment to the story but I seemed to keep find ways to draw it out a little longer, which was never really a bad thing as I was having a ball writing this story and never wanted it to end.

As always I want to thank you all for reading and supporting this story, it means so much to know people are enjoying the re-write.

Also, if you don't know already, I've already began writing and uploading the prequel to this story, Ascension, over in the Clone Wars section of the site and I'd really appreciate if you could spare some time to read and leave your thoughts on that story as I'm trying to make it the best story I've written and only you guys can help me make sure I keep to a standard that I and I'm sure you all expect from me.

But yeah, that'll just about do it for another weekend and as always, thank you all very much for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!

**Added Note: **I've started up a Facebook page just so I can interact better with you guys and get our feedback in an easier setting, so, if you're interested, feel free to head over and give the page a like, cheers!

**Facebook Page Link: ** pages/Sparks-Stories/517892638279537


	12. What Is Our Fate? Part 1

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 12**

** What Is Our Fate? Part 1**

* * *

**_Vaila's POV_**

"Hey, good luck up there, and tell me everything in the morning okay?" Ahsoka spoke softly as she pulled the worried looking Vaila into a light hug.

"Thank you… I wish I didn't have to leave… I guess I'm a little excited at the same time though" Vaila replied as she gently broke the embrace and began to rub her left forearm out of shy habit.

Ahsoka smirked, "A little?" she asked with a giggle and Vaila could tell she sensed the excitement building up in her thoughts, "You'll be fine, I promise. You'll tell me all about it in the morning at breakfast, right?"

Vaila smiled nervously, "Right… and… thank you, Ahsoka" she replied with a smile as she pulled the Togruta into another hug, "Thank you for being with me today, you're a true friend" Vaila added as she felt yet another warm feeling fill Ahsoka's heart.

"So are you, silly" Ahsoka said as she returned the Twi'lek's hug, "Well, you better get going, good luck, Vaila" she added as she gently broke their embrace and stepped backwards out of the elevator, "May the force be with you, Vaila Secura" she said with a wide smile.

Vaila returned her smile with a soft grin of her own, "May the force be with you, Ahsoka Tano" she replied happily as the doors of the large glass cylinder closed once more and the elevator began its ascent towards the Jedi Temples main hall and the Council chamber beyond.

Not taking her eyes off Ahsoka reassuring smile, Vaila let a low sigh escape her lips as the young Togruta slowly but surely vanished beneath her and the elevator continued to rise to the highest floor of the ancient building.

The thought of finally being taken on by a Jedi Knight was almost pushed aside by Vaila's sudden nervousness as she just as suddenly wished she had asked Ahsoka to come with her, if only for moral support but also so she would have liked to have someone there that made her feel as calm and as confident as her newest friend did.

She had only known the young Togruta for less than a day, but already Vaila had grown closer to Ahsoka than anyone she had known since first arriving to the Jedi temple with Aayla Secura fourteen years prior.

Sure, she had had friends here and there over that time, but she had never felt as comfortable and open as she did around Ahsoka, there was just something about her that Vaila sensed the moment they met in the sparring room that morning, something that told her she could trust Ahsoka, something she had never felt around any of the other Jedi she had known, well, except one or two.

After a few short minutes the elevator came to a slow stop and opened its cylindrical doors to the large main hall of the Jedi Temple and upon exiting, Vaila instantly noticed that the floor was surprisingly quiet.

She strode forward, eyeing her surroundings for any signs of life only to find that the entire main hall was void off any movement, bar herself and a small astromech droid that cheerfully beeped a greeting at her as it made its way toward the archive room.

"Sure is easy to get lonely in a place like this" Vaila spoke freely and out loud, though she didn't expect anyone to hear her.

Loneliness wasn't really anything new to Vaila, she would often wonder the halls and corridors of the temple on her own when she needed to clear her mind or get some fresh air.

It wasn't that she didn't want to interact with other Jedi, but none of them ever seemed to be the kind that would understand her in the way Ahsoka and Aayla did, though; they weren't the only ones she had trusted with her story.

Vaila instinctively reached for the small teardrop pendent that hung from her neck and lightly gripped the blue crystal, "I wish you were here, Ellie" she said in a lower tone as Vaila turned down into the corridor that lead to the Jedi Council Chamber.

As she came to a stop about half way down the long corridor, Vaila felt a single tear run down her cheek, though, it was not one of sadness, quite the opposite in fact.

For the first time since she had been given the rank of Padawan, Vaila was happy, she had a new best friend in Ahsoka and another in Lux, whom she had grown to trust and admire despite her earlier reluctance.

It was a warm feeling in her heart that she had not experienced in such a long time and one that filled her with confidence.

She was ready to take on the galaxy, no matter what it threw at her, she wasn't alone anymore and soon she may even have a new master, someone to guide and look over her as she finally broke away from her former self and openly take on a new lease on life that she was more than willing to embrace.

Vaila smiled brightly before taking a few more strides and once again coming to a stop, though this time in front of the doors that would open to the Chamber and those who waited within.

She brushed herself down and wiped the lingering tear from her cheek before beginning her advance once more and confidently walking through the now open doors to the sight of the greeting Jedi Council.

"Ah, Padawan Secura, there you are" Master Windu greeted her with a small nod and a firm but kind tone at the same time.

"Masters, you wanted to see me?" Vaila returned the greeting with a bow of her own, making sure to acknowledge the other council members who were present, including those who were overseeing the meeting though holopads.

"An important day in the life of any Jedi this is, ready to face the challenges ahead you must be" Master Yoda spoke next, his hologram flickering slightly as he smiled warmly at young Twi'lek like he always did when they met.

"I… I am ready, my master" Vaila replied a little nervously but again bowed and returned the elder Jedi's smile with one of her own as she released a small but long breath.

"There is strength in you young one; I was certainly misinformed about your timid nature" Shaak Ti said with a serine tone as she stood from her seat, "I must admit, I was not sure if I could take on another apprentice after my past failures, but in you, I see hope. Would you become my Padawan, Vaila?"

Vaila's eyes widened, off all the Jedi Knights she could have hoped for, Shaak Ti was one that she would have only dreamed of becoming her master. It was a surprise; though one she was welcoming with open arms.

"I… I would be honoured to be your apprentice, Master" Vaila replied, lifting her head to meet the gaze of the tall Togruta who smiled softly down at her.

Shaak Ti nodded, placing her hands on Vaila's shoulders as a sign of support, and friendship, "Then with much happiness, I take Vaila as my Padawan learner" the Togruta announced with another small smile as the council all nodded in unison.

"It is settled then" Master Windu said with a final nod, "Normally we would go through some more pleasantries, but being in the situation we find ourselves I think you will understand Padawan Secura" he added as he turned his attention back to Vaila.

"Of course, Master Windu… and… thank you, Master" she replied a little nervously though was relieved when the elder Jedi smiled and bowed respectfully before resuming his usual stern expression.

"May the force be with you both" Master Yoda's voice echoed that of the rest of the councils before his and the other holograms disappeared and the rest of the present council members exited the chamber with a bow and a congratulations to the new Master and Padawan pair.

Shaak Ti then led Vaila in a walk around the temple, during which she explained the new duties Vaila would be obliged to carry out as a fully-fledged Padawan learner, including receiving the title of commander if or when she and her master were called out to the battlefields across the galaxy.

In a way Vaila was excited knowing she would soon be visiting different places, though she did fear having to become involved in the fighting aspect.

She quickly pushed these fears away however, the knowledge that she had the experience of a Jedi Master and of course Ahsoka to help her in terms of learning how to defend both herself and others in the heat of battle filling her with confidence as she proudly walked next to her new Master.

"I read in your profile that you have some experience in battle, Vaila, does that include the use of a Starfighter?" Shaak Ti asked thoughtfully as the pair circled the corridor that looked over the Jedi Temples hanger bay.

Vaila thought the question over, "I have passed all the simulator tests, but I am yet to pilot an actual fighter…" she responded a little downheartedly.

"Hmm, well, I suppose that should be the first thing we work on together" Shaak Ti said with a small smile, "But first, let's have the droids build you a proper Jedi Starfighter. You can pick the generation and the colour yourself and then we can configure it to your liking tomorrow" the elder Jedi added as she gestured toward the incoming ramp that would take them into the bowels of the hanger.

Vaila froze as her master finished speaking, "You mean… I'll get to fly?… tomorrow?" she asked, her voice shaking and stuttering nervously as the slightly daunting thought of piloting a Starfighter in actual space washed over her mind.

Shaak Ti smiled and placed a hand on Vaila's right shoulder as they came to a stop at the top of the ramp, "Do not let fear dictate your mind, young one, and do not worry, I will be with you every step of the way" the Togruta said with a comforting expression as she locked her violet eyes with those of her Padawan.

"I… I'll try my best, Master" Vaila stuttered another answer, fearing that Master Ti may become angry at her for being afraid, though she was relieved to hear the Jedi Master let out a small giggle.

"Do not worry my young Padawan, like I said, I will be there for you every step of the way, I promise" Shaak Ti spoke softly as a look of encouragement crossed her features and she knelt and took Vaila's hands in her own, "You have nothing to fear, little one, but fear itself".

Vaila's eyes softened with a small smile, the knowledge that her new master was always going to be there for her for now on only making her feel more and more comfortable as she felt Master Ti's serine mind touch her own and sensed the confidence that the Jedi master had in her new apprentice.

Shaak Ti then stood and quickly led the young Twi'lek down into the hanger and then to the head droid mechanic in order to build and design her very own Jedi Starfighter, with Vaila choosing the newer Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor over an older Delta-7B Aethersprite and asking for the fighter to be coloured blue and white.

"I see everything is moving along well then?" the now all too familiar voice of Mace Windu echoed from behind just as Vaila finished speaking with the mechanic droid and both she and Master Ti turned to greet the Jedi Master with respectful bows.

"Yes Master Windu, I was just having my new Padawan design her new Starfighter before turning in for the night" Shaak Ti said in her usual serine tone before turning briefly to smile at Vaila who returned it with one of her own.

Windu smirked, "Good, I have just received word that Master Kenobi has eliminated General Grievous, so I'm afraid you may not get the chance to do much space fighting Padawan Secura" the elder Jedi added as his tone suddenly became a lot lighter than before.

"That is… good news, Master, though I won't hide that I am more than a little relived to know I will be avoiding any space battles" Vaila replied quickly while keeping to a respectful tone and earning a light chuckle from the Jedi Master, something that came as a surprise to her and even Master Ti who's eyes had widened with a sarcastic smirk.

"In any case, I was wondering if we could speak in private, Master Ti. We are on our way to make sure the Chancellor gives up his emergency powers in light of General Grievous' demise. I was hoping to leave you in charge here while I and the other masters deal with the matter personally" Windu added as he shifted his gaze between the two.

Shaak Ti nodded before turning to face Vaila and once more placing her hand on the young Twi'lek's shoulder as she dropped to one knee, "I will speak with Master Windu and contact you in the morning Vaila, finish up here and get some rest, tomorrow will be a big day for you" she said softly and with a small smile before standing and turning to follow Windu into the centre of the hanger.

Vaila bowed as the two masters walked and quickly decided to take this opportunity to try and contact Ahsoka as she found herself not wanting to wait until the morning to let her best friend know the good news while also feeling little worried that opportunities to talk with her may be more limited now that she had been assigned to Master Ti.

"Is there anything else you need?" Vaila quickly asked as she turned her attention back to the mechanic droid behind her.

"Nothing more, Padawan Secura, your ship should be ready by this time tomorrow, we will contact you if anything changes" the droid replied with a nod of its head before turning back to the data screen behind.

Vaila nodded with a smile before making her way to a quiet corner of the hanger where she was sure no one would be able to eavesdrop.

Satisfied she was out of sight and ear; Vaila activated her comm and set it to contact Ahsoka's room, no answer, she tried again, nothing.

"That's strange, why isn't she answering?" Vaila spoke out loud, as though expecting an answer she knew would never come, "She must be sleeping, it is late after all" she concluded, turning off her comm once again and feeling a little disappointed that she would have to wait until morning.

Vaila sighed softly before turning back towards the centre of the hanger. She noticed that Master Ti was no longer at Master Windu's side, though someone else now was, a Jedi Vaila knew to be Ahsoka's master, Anakin Skywalker.

From her standpoint, Vaila could see he had a distressed look on his face, one that made her worry that something was wrong and her worries were just as soon confirmed as she heard Master Windu shout three words that would make any Jedi worry, "A Sith Lord!?"

A wave of worry washed over Vaila as she watched Master Windu continue to speak to the younger Knight with a serious expression and she quickly made the decision to seek out her Master and tell her about what she had just heard.

Vaila quickly made a run back up the ramp that lead to the overlooking corridor and back towards the elevator. She could sense that there was a sudden shift in the force, a disturbance that made her more than a little nervous as what Master Windu said back in the hanger only added to her growing worries.

"Hold it!" a familiar voice called from behind just as Vaila entered and was about to activate the elevator to make her ascent back to the main hall in the hope of finding her master, a voice she knew, again from earlier that day.

She turned, placing her hand on the control panel to hold the elevator as Anakin Skywalker swiftly jogged into the glass cylinder to join her.

Vaila dropped her head shyly as the Jedi Knight took a moment to catch his breath, it was obvious he had ran from the hanger to catch the elevator before it left, "Thank you…" he said between long breaths and only lifting his head briefly to get a glimpse of who he was speaking to.

"Oh, um…It's fine, Master Skywalker… um… which floor should I put in for you?" Vaila asked, stuttering out of nervousness as she rubbed her left forearm and once again dropped her gaze to the ground.

Anakin let out one final breath before standing upright and properly greeting her, "Oh, you're Ahsoka's friend, right?" he asked, sounding as distracted as Vaila noticed he looked.

"Um… Yes…" Vaila replied, again not feeling comfortable in the presence of the Jedi Knight, especially after how he had greeted her earlier at the senate building.

Anakin only gave her a look in return before turning his gaze to the control panel, "Looks like we're going the same way" he spoke quickly before crossing his arms and turning his gaze to the world outside.

Vaila only nodded, though she didn't think Anakin was watching her anymore. She remembered hearing stories about the great General Skywalker, a man without fear who led his troops into impossible situations only to come out victorious almost every time.

This made Vaila wonder of Ahsoka had been part of these exploits, many of which had sounded dangerous, too dangerous for a normal Padawan, though then again, was Ahsoka an ordinary Padawan?

The young Togruta came across as being more open and free than many others of her rank; it was something that made her unique, at least that's what Vaila thought.

Perhaps it was her master who had made Ahsoka that way? Vaila had also heard that Skywalker was not one to follow the rules to a tee and was a bit of a risk taker, another trait he seemed to share with his Padawan as Vaila remembered promising to keep Ahsoka and Lux's secret.

"Um… Master Skywalker?" Vaila surprised even herself by trying to get his attention; it was usually the other way around.

Anakin seemed to break out of deep thought before turning his gaze to face her, "What is it?" he asked his tone void of much emotion though he also seemed distracted by something else.

Vaila dropped her head again, feeling more and more uncomfortable as she searched for the right words to use, "I… I was just wondering… well…" she was about to finish when the elevator came to a halt at its destination and she sighed sadly, "Never mind, Master Skywalker, I will ask you again sometime"

Anakin looked at her with a small hint of concern, though she could tell his mind was still elsewhere, "I'm sorry… Vaila? Was it? I'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone right now, I hope you can understand" he said quickly before walking out of the elevator and making his way to the council chamber.

Vaila could only watch and feel a little foolish as he walked away, she had wanted to ask him about Ahsoka and their time together on the battlefield and she cursed herself for being too nervous to simply spit it out.

She once again sighed, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind, she wanted to report to Master after all.

Making her way out of the elevator, Vaila reached out with the force in an attempt to find her master and almost instantly recognising Shaak Ti's force signature in one of the mediation rooms on the east side of the great hall.

She quickly made her way to the small room and knocked the large steel door before entering to find her master coming out of a deep mediation.

"Vaila? Is something wrong?" Shaak Ti asked with a hint of worry in her tone as she stood from her seated position and lightly brushed her long robes down.

"Forgive me for interrupting master, it's just, I overheard Master Skywalker and Master Windu talking in the hanger bay, they mentioned something about a Sith Lord!" Vaila replied quickly.

Shaak Ti seemed to digest the information for a small moment before finally approaching her Padawan and placing a hand on her shoulder, "Vaila, I want you to go back to your quarters and await my call" the Togruta finally spoke with concern evident in her usually calm voice.

Vaila shuck her head, "But master!" she tried to protest.

"Don't argue with me young one" Shaak Ti interrupted, "I only want you to be safe and this news is a matter for the council, not a Padawan. I promise I will call on you if I need you, but until then I want you to remain in your quarters, do you understand?" she added as her voice softened once again.

"I… I understand, Master" said Vaila, not wanting to pursue the matter any further as she knew she would not be able to convince Master Ti to let her help, though she also accepted that the Togruta master was right and only wanted her to be safe.

"Thank you Vaila, I am sorry, but you must understand I only want what is best for you and to keep you safe and right now there is no safer place than here in the temple, and in your quarters" Master Ti spoke softly as she placed her other hand on Vaila's free shoulder before gesturing her out of the mediation room and towards the elevator where she made sure to send Vaila down to the floor on which her quarters awaited.

Vaila entered the code to her room and, after resealing the door, leaped face first onto her bed and pillow as she let out a small sigh.

She was frustrated that her master had sent her away at a time like this, though that only proved to be another feeling that surprised her.

Vaila had never felt like this toward anyone before, let alone a Jedi Master and it shocked her a little that she nearly openly defied Master Ti.

It was a strange feeling, she had never had a Master to be frustrated with, nor would she have expected to feel so strongly about it so soon after being taken as a fully-fledged Padawan.

Vaila found herself giggling lightly as she wondered if all Padawan learners felt this way, she knew Ahsoka did, she had witnessed it first hand at the senate building when she first met Anakin Skywalker.

Seeing Ahsoka tease and joke with her master made Vaila uncomfortable at first, but now she knew first hand that the bond between master and apprentice means getting to know each other in a personal way, another thought that made Vaila think, maybe not all attachments are outlawed by the Jedi code, after all, how can a master and Padawan spend such a long time together and not get to know each other personally.

It was all alien to her now, but Vaila knew deep down that she still had a lot to learn and she wanted to begin by asking Ahsoka about her relationship with her master, how they became so close but still stuck to the code. Vaila giggled again, imagining Ahsoka's reaction.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for reading guys, hope you all enjoyed the first of the two spin-off chapters.

When I first decided to write the spin-offs I was coming back from a two month spell of writers block and wrote both chapters in an attempt to get myself back in the swing of things, though after they were finished, I decided to upload them in order to tie the later events of the story together as well as give Vaila some of the spotlight as her story came to mean a lot more to me than I thought it originally would have.

The next and final spin-off chapter will continue to look at Vaila but will also feature Lux as I try to tie him into his later role, so I hope you enjoy that.

Also, just a quick note, when I started writing this story, I wanted to stay as close to canon as I could while also changing one or two things that would serve to make the story as good as it could be, so I hope that these little differences don't cause you to turn away from the story.

Anyways, enough of my babbling, thank you all once again for reading as well as your amazing support and I will catch you guys on Sunday night for the next update, cheers!


	13. What Is Our Fate? Part 2

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 13**

**What Is Our Fate? Part 2**

* * *

**_Vaila's POV_**

* * *

Vaila let out a low yelp as she was awakened by a knocking sound from her door. She took a moment to gather herself, realising she had fallen asleep while reminiscing about the day's events and surprised at just how tired she was now feeling.

Sighing lightly and climbing off her bed, Vaila made her way to the door, her eyes briefly catching the sight of the tray on which sat a pot of now cold tea and the snacks that she and Ahsoka had shared that morning before leaving to meet Lux.

Another knock on the steel door broke Vaila out of yet another moment of reminiscence and she quickly activated the control panel to unlock and open it.

"Padawan Secura?" The voice of a youngling, a small male human with short brown hair and bright green eyes similar to her own greeted Vaila and she almost instantly noticed he was carrying a medium sized silver box that bore the symbol of the Jedi Order on its lid.

"Yes? Can I help you with something little one?" Vaila asked with a small smile as the youngling seemed to search for the right words.

"Um… Master Shaak Ti requested that I deliver this box to you, she said it was important" he replied, returning her smile briefly before holding out the silver box.

"Oh, thank you. Did she say what it was?" Vaila asked thoughtfully before taking the slightly heavy box from the young boy's arms and placing it on the small shelf beside her door.

"No, she just said it was a gift to you" the youngling replied, seeming a little anxious as he looked up at her.

Vaila nodded, "I see. Well, thank you for bringing it to me, you did a good job" she said, again with a smile and earning another in return from the young boy before he bowed and quickly made his way back up the corridor and towards the elevator.

Resealing her door, Vaila quickly picked up the silver box she had just received and placed it on the end of her bed before seating herself cross legged atop the soft covers and turning the box to face her.

Feeling more than a little excited, Vaila placed her hands on each side of the cold silver container and slowly lifted the lid before setting it down beside her.

From inside the box, Vaila pulled out and also set beside her a brand new set of dark blue Jedi Clothing including boots and armguards, a new robe, a data pad and finally, to her surprise, an add-on to her silka bead braid that she had made years prior that would signify she was finally a fully-fledged Padawan.

Vaila's eyes widened with excitement as she examined the gifts her Master had sent her, feeling almost like she could cry with happiness as she attached the final piece of her braid and ran her fingers down the smooth beads that adorned it.

It was only then however that Vaila remembered the last time she had seen her beads, it had almost been fourteen years since she gave them to Aayla after her initiate teacher, Master Plo Koon, had asked her class to give their beads to someone they trusted to look after them and give them back once the initiate became a Padawan.

Vaila smiled brightly, the thought that Aayla had left her beads as well as everything else in the box behind for her sending a wave of happiness though her mind as she once again twirled one of the small spheres between her fingers.

Vaila stood from her bed, wanting to see how it looked in her mirror before moving on to the other gifts, though she knew this one meant the most to her.

She had been told almost three years before that she was ready to be assigned a master, yet for so long she was continually told that they had not yet found one that was willing to take her, a fact that had hurt her deeply, until now, now she was finally an apprentice to a Jedi Knight and not just any Knight, but a member of the Jedi Council itself, a realisation that made Vaila once again smile uncontrollably and spin herself in a full circle in front of the mirror as she let it all sink in.

Gasping slightly, Vaila remembered the other gifts Master Ti had sent her and quickly turned and made her way back to her bed to examine them.

She first picked up the new robe, instantly noticing how soft and light the fabric was, but also that it was surprisingly warm on the inside.

Next, Vaila went through the small pile of Jedi clothing, realising again to her surprise that the set resembled the same outfit Ahsoka had been wearing, though without the upper armbands, the diamond shaped cut-outs on the dark grey leggings and the fact that this set was dark blue and not the tanned red colour that her friend's was, though it also lacked the signature sash, an item she assumed all Togruta wore as she had noticed a similar, though longer, sash on Master Ti.

The final item she found was a piece of headwear that Vaila recognised and remembered seeing Aayla wearing, though the colour was the same dark blue as the rest of the outfit.

Another rush of excitement washed over her as Vaila quickly grabbed the pile of new clothing and ran into her refresher to try them on and smiling brightly as she noticed that everything was a perfect fit.

Going to her mirror again, Vaila gasped and let out a low laugh, barely recognising herself as she looked herself and once again spun in a circle to examine the entire outfit, there was just one thing missing.

Vaila raised her right hand towards her desk, reaching out with the force to call her lightsaber to her hand and igniting the bright cyan blade as she stood in a battle ready position using the reverse Shien style she had strived so much to learn.

She let out a long breath, reassuring herself that she was strong enough to become the Jedi she had always wanted to be.

No longer would she let her emotions get the better of her when the situation was dyer, no longer would she be afraid to take action when she needed to and no longer would she have to be alone.

Vaila smiled again as she deactivated her lightsaber and placed it on her belt, knowing with all her heart that she was truly happy for the first time since she was a child living peacefully on Ryloth.

She grabbed her new robe and proceeded to wrap the soft fabric around herself, welcoming the warmth as she cuddled it to herself before lifting the rather oversized hood over her head, but again, it was an overall perfect fit.

Taking one last glance in her mirror, Vaila finally moved on to the last item Aayla had left for her, the small datapad that was still sitting on her bed exactly where she had left it.

More than a little curious, Vaila sat back in a cross legged position in front of the silver box before taking hand of the datapad and activating the small device which flashed to life instantly with the image of young, smiling Twi'lek couple who stood side by side in front of a large dome shaped building.

Vaila suddenly felt a wave of both joy and sadness as she instantly recognised the two Twi'lek and the place at which they stood, "Mama… Papa…" she spoke softly as tears began to well up and she stared at the still image of her family.

It had been fourteen years since she had last seen them and a day would never go by when she would not find herself thinking about them, she remembered back to the day Aayla had taken her from her home, not her fondest memory but one she had played over in her mind hundreds of times since arriving at the temple as a three year old.

Looking at the bottom of the picture, Vaila noticed a few lines written in her native language and she took a moment to wipe away the now free flowing tears from her cheeks before reading the words out loud to herself.

_Our beloved daughter, our beautiful Vaila, our pride and joy._

_You are the light that shun through a cloud of darkness and brought happiness to our lives._

_And although you are now far away, we still see that light in the distance as an undying star._

_Know always that you hold a special place in our hearts and that we will never stop loving you._

_Forever with you, Mama and Papa._

Unable to hold her emotions back, Vaila began to cry uncontrollably as she finished reading the message her parents had left her.

After so many years being unable to communicate with or see her family it came as a shock to her just how much she missed them.

"I love you too, so much" she said between sops as she tried to pull herself together. As much of a shock it had been to receive the data pad, Vaila was glad she had been given it, and thankful that Aayla had decided to send it to her despite what she knew could be a violation of the Jedi Code.

Finally wiping the last of her tears away, she tucked the small device into one of the inner pockets of her new robe and once again stood from her seated position to look in her mirror.

"I'll make you both proud, I promise" Vaila said with a tone of both sadness and confidence as a look of determination crossed her features and she let out a low sigh before straightening herself once more.

A moment of silence then followed before suddenly, Vaila felt a small sting pierce her senses followed closely by a swift and sharp shift in the force that made her feel more than a little uneasy.

Calming herself, she widened her senses and scanned the world around her for any signs of danger but her mind seemed to continue to focus on a particular area of the temple where she could sense the intense pain of someone she had only recently formed a bond with.

"Ahsoka!" Vaila almost screamed, realising that it was in fact her young Togrutan friend who was suffering from the effects of an invisible attacker.

A wave of urgency then washed over Vaila as she quickly punched in the code for her door and stepped out into the cold, dark corridor beyond before making a run for the elevator and leaving her door wide open, though she didn't really care at that moment.

Coming to a swift stop in front of the elevator control panel, she franticly pressed the screen multiple times to call the glass cylinder to her location, though it seemed to be taking forever to arrive.

"Vaila are you there?" the panic filled voice of Master Shaak Ti called out from her communicator, "Vaila please respond!"

Vaila quickly activated the small device on her arm and held it up to her mouth, "Master what's going on!?" she asked, again sensing a great shift in the force as she could have sworn she heard blaster fire emanate from the lower levels.

"Vaila, the temple is under attack and I urgently need your help!" Shaak Ti replied quickly, confirming Vaila's worst fears as the sound of blaster fire and frantic screaming increased in the background.

"Of course, Master but I must find Ahsoka first, I sense she is in danger and she may need help" Vaila said with urgency as her voice began to shake and the determination to help her best friend pushed all other thoughts aside.

"There is no time my Padawan, there is a group of younglings I have gathered in the Jedi Council Chamber that need to be looked after while I help those on the lower levels, I need you to go their immediately" Shaak Ti replied with a tone of worry.

"But master, what about Ahsoka? She might be in greater danger!" Vaila pleaded, aging surprising herself by being so defiant.

"I will tend to it myself, Vaila, I am closer to her quarters where I am and will enlist her help if indeed she is okay, but you must follow my instructions and go to the Jedi Council Chamber Immediately. I will send Ahsoka up to you and together we can escape if the temple is overrun" Master Ti replied once more as her tone softened slightly.

Vaila sighed, she wanted nothing more than to help Ahsoka herself, but she also knew she had to obey her master, "I… I understand, Master" she replied, sounding more than a little reluctant.

"Thank you, Vaila and please be careful my Padawan, may the force be with us all" Shaak Ti finished, again seeming to sound positive in the face at what was standing in front of her before Vaila's comm once again fell silent.

The elevator arrived not long after Vaila had finished speaking to her master and she quickly made her way to the Council Chamber to find a small group of Younglings waiting for her.

Sensing their fear, she tried to calm and reassure them before sealing the door to the chamber as a precaution until Ahsoka arrived to help her.

Time seemed to slow down as Vaila waited, though often she would have to try and calm one of the younglings down as they began to panic and in doing so scared the others.

It was nearly a half hour later that Vaila was sure she felt Ahsoka was nearby, though she seemed to have disappeared again just as quickly only to be replaced an even more powerful force presence that approached the chamber where she now sat and waited for the next move.

"Padawan Secura, I'm here to get you out of here, open the door" A familiar voice called out from behind the sealed doors, a voice Vaila was more than a little happy to hear as she looked around and smiled reassuringly at the group of younglings.

"At once, Master" Vaila replied before standing and opening the doors and taking a step out into the corridor where a dark and hooded figure stood wielding a bright blue lightsaber at the ready.

Vaila then sensed a great and terrible darkness quickly envelop the area as she stared into the sickeningly pale yellow eyes of the man who stood before her, slowly drawing her lightsaber, as a feeling of dread washed over her and an unexplainable fear gripped her.

* * *

**_Lux's POV_**

* * *

Lux paced franticly around his penthouse in an attempt to clear his mind and plan his next move, it had only been minutes since he had spoken to Ahsoka on his communicator and learned of the attack that had ravaged the Jedi Temple. He briefly stared out the glass panel doors to his balcony and across the skyline where the burning temple awaited, yet he had no idea how he would be able to transport himself, Ahsoka, Vaila and an entire group of Jedi Younglings to safety without being caught, though in reality, it was the least of his worries.

A knock on the front door caught Lux's attention as he came to a halt in the centre of the penthouse and seated himself on one of the semi-circle sofas, wondering who would possibly want to see him at this hour of the night.

"Are you expecting someone master Lux?" Shari asked, as she exited the kitchen area and approached the door.

Lux thought for a moment before answering, "No, at least I don't think so. Can you see who it is Shari?" he asked, struggling to focus.

The girl nodded, activating a command console on the wall next to the door and viewing the security camera outside, "It appears to be a small squad of Republic Troopers sir" said Shari, oblivious to just how serious this situation was appearing to be.

Lux froze upon hearing Shari's response, why would they come here? Did they know something? He asked himself, panicking to act as yet another knock, though harder one came from the door.

"Master Lux. Should I let them in?" asked Shari, her voice a little shaky as she was clearly somewhat fearful.

Lux tried to think of a way out of the situation, he didn't want to have to dodge a squad of clones while also finding a ship big enough to help in the escape effort at the temple and at the same time he feared that these clones may know he is a friend to the Jedi and suspect he may try and help them. He began to panic again before something popped into his head, something he could use to his advantage.

He turned to face Shari who had now taken a few steps away from the door, her features where that of shock and obvious fear, "Shari, it's alright, let them in, but as you do, could you take a look and see what type of transport they are using?" he asked, a plan forming in his head.

Shari looked at him quizzingly but didn't seem to want to question him, "As you wish" she said, her voice still a little shaky as she moved to activate the door control panel.

The clones outside wasted little time in storming into the large penthouse, holding their weapons firmly against their hardened chest armour as they quickly scanned the room. There were five altogether and they all wore the well-known blue and white armour of the 501st, a sight that left little doubt in Lux's mind that Ahsoka was indeed in grave danger.

Standing, Lux made his way to the commander of the group who stood, arms crossed, in front of the door as the other troops continued to scan the rooms of the penthouse with increased vigour. He bowed respectfully and did his best to fake a smile as the clone commander gestured, also respectfully, at the young senator.

"Good evening commander" Lux greeted the taller clone, again faking a smile, "Forgive me for being so forward, but is there a reason you are ransacking my home?" he asked, a slight hint of authority in his tone, he was a senator after all.

The clone commander removed his helmet before answering, revealing the all too familiar face of the dreaded bounty hunter Jango Fett, though with a head of dyed blue hair and a scar on his forehead, "Sorry for intruding sir, but this area is on high alert, the Jedi have betrayed the Republic and we fear they may try to murder or kidnap the people in power, such as yourself sir. We're just here for your own protection" he finished, wearing a forced grin of his own as her scanned the room his troops where now turning upside down.

Lux could see instantly that he was being lied to; they knew he was a friend to the Jedi and wanted to keep him from snooping around, that much was clear, "I see. Well commander I assure you I do not need protection, this place is quite safe" he said, his tone becoming harder.

The clone commander only smiled at him before placing his helmet back on and walking further into the penthouse, "Of that I have no doubt sir, but the Jedi are crafty, as you probably know" he said, his back now to Lux and his own voice hardening to a point it sounded like one filled with anger.

Frowning angrily to himself, Lux briskly made his way to Shari's side as she stood shaking behind one of the small pillars that dotted the entrance hall, "Are you alright?" he asked her, his tone softening.

Shari could only nod as she kept her eyes fixed on the clones who continued to basically destroy the entire living area in front of them.

Lux placed a hand on the girls shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, "It's ok Shari, they won't hurt you, they wouldn't dare" he said, earning a small smile from the girl as she finally averted her gaze from the destruction.

"I… I seen their ship Master Lux" she said, her voice still a little shaky.

Lux smiled at her, "Good, can you describe it to me?" he asked, again trying to sound both comforting and reassuring.

Shari nodded, "It was just a standard LAAT/i as far as I could tell sir. I've seen many of them tonight in fact" she finished, her voice returning to normal.

Lux smiled both inwardly and at Shari as he let the information sink in, such a craft was of course perfect for what he needed to do, the only problem now was, "How do I capture it?"

Shari looked at him with wide eyes as fear again began to rule her features, "You want to "Capture" the ship sir?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

Lux looked at her gravely, "I need to Shari, I have a…" he paused "A friend in the temple that needs my help, and that ship is the only thing that can get the job done. So yes, I do want to capture it" he said, awaiting her complete refusal, though surprised when it didn't come.

Instead, Shari seemed to sink into thought, "I have an idea sir, wait here" she said, before making her way into the now unrecognisable living area.

"Ohhhh!" she screamed, before collapsing to the ground in a heap, a sight that instantly caught the clone commander's attention.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, running to the girl's side and kneeling to get a better look at her.

Lux smiled to himself as he realised what she was up to, "Oh my, it seems she's taken a bad turn" he said, knelling to meet the gaze of the clone commander as he removed his helmet once again.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked a tone of shock in his voice.

Shari began to moan in pain as she heard him speak, "Ohhhh, my stomach, it hurts!" she shouted and although Lux knew she was acting, she sounded more than convincing.

Not wanting to miss his part, Lux grabbed hold of Shari's left hand and looked gravely at the commander, "If you would allow me commander, could I take your shuttle and bring my maid here to a medical centre? She is in terrible distress as you can clearly see" he said, adding a shake to his voice in order to sound more convincing.

The clone commander seemed to think for a minute, "I… I suppose so, but one of my men must go with you, just as a… precaution" he said, his voice holding a hint of suspicion.

Lux nodded and smiled sadly at the commander, "Thank you sir, we should leave immediately, have one of your men carry her out, I must fetch my coat from my room" he said, earning a nod from the clone as he ordered one of his men to join him.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lux ran to his room and quickly removed a small container for underneath his bed, from which he removed a pair of small blaster pistols and a stun blade. He then placed the weapons on the inside of his trench coat and kicked the now empty container back under his bed, thanking the force that the clones had not searched there yet.

Lux then ran out of the apartment and boarded the transport where the commander, a single trooper and Shari awaited, "I think she's out cold sir, you better hurry" said the commander, his voice now deep with worry, perhaps the clones aren't completely brainwashed after all, thought Lux, before nodding at the commander and taking a seat on the crafts floor beside the "Out Cold" Shari.

"I'll try to be quick" said Lux, again adding a touch of distress to his voice before the clone nodded and ordered the pilot to take them to the nearest medical centre.

Lux waited a few minutes after take-off before finally putting his plan into action, he patted Shari on the shoulder first however, a signal so that she should be ready. He then turned his attention to the trooper who was standing across form them, oblivious to what was about to happen.

Lux stood from his seated position and undid his coat, drawing both of his blasters as he did and quickly firing two stun bolts at the trooper who now lay on the floor in front of him. Next he moved to the equally oblivious pilot, quickly activating the ships auto pilot before adding another stun bolt and making the shocked pilot go limp.

Behind him Shari had tied the trooper to one of the hand rails while awaiting Lux's next move as he dragged the pilot out of his seat and threw the heavy clone on the floor. Shari smiled and mimicked her efforts from the last clone, tying the pilot the handrail before joining Lux who was now sitting in the front of the craft.

"Thank you Shari, you will never know how grateful I am" he said earning a smile from the girls she looked ahead of them to see the burning Jedi Temple.

Lux's features then turned to that of pure determination as he spied the eastern landing pad from afar, and he prepared himself for whatever may happen next, increasing the speed of the craft as he whispered softly, "I'm coming Ahsoka"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes:** And that does it for the spin off chapters! I hope you guys liked them. I originally planned to use them as inspiration and something to build on after the horrible case of writer's block I had but I thought I might as well upload them and see what you guys thought.

With these later chapters, returning readers will probably find that there hasn't been much of a change as far as re-writing them has gone and that's mainly down to the fact that I was happy enough just to correct one or two things such as spelling while also adding little things that would tie the story together.

Also, I want to point out that I decided to have Vaila use the reverse Shien style because I really like the stance and it's another thing she and Ahsoka have in common. I also have it planned for her to learn the style in her own story which I am currently writing, so it will be explained in more detail when I get around to that point.

Anyways, thank you all once again for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!


	14. Tears Of Sapphire

**The Broken Hearted Padawan**

**Chapter 14**

**Tears of Sapphire**

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Ahsoka punched the hard stone flood beneath her in both frustration and grief driven anger as she struggled against the tortuous pain that was once again overwhelming her mind. Gathering all the strength she could, she reached out for the nearby pillar in an attempt to find some leverage, though the cold, smooth stone was not providing her with much to hang on to. Refusing to give in, she eventually found a small crevasse that had been chipped into the edge of the pillar which she grabbed hold of and, mustering all the power she could, pulled herself back to her feet.

Ahsoka groaned as the she felt the fatigue of doing even this simple task take its toll on her weakened body, and only saved herself from falling back to the hard floor by crashing rather violently against the pillar she had just climbed, hugging her shaky arms around it for much needed support as she tried to gather herself and calm her mind after what was the most painful and terrifying attack so far.

It came as a surprise to Ahsoka just how much had been taken out of her, normally she would be able to fight through such intense pain and continue on to her goal by any means necessary, however this time there was a difference. She was used to physical attacks and had suffered more than her fair share of injuries while serving as a commander and padawan during the Clone Wars, but it had been a long time since she had taken such a massive attack on her mind and very emotions as well as her body. It was as though she was being punished for something she knew nothing about, being tortured by the force itself as it tore away the many bonds she had formed with countless Jedi over her short life.

She could see it all clearly, the force had shown her every death as clear as day and she could do nothing to prevent them. She seen a squadron of fighters destroy Plo Koon's star fighter, a clone commander shoot Master Luminara in the chest as she was tending to the wounded, as similar commander fire upon Aayla Secura as she eyed a bird in the skies of Felucia, and finally, a shrouded image of two hooded figures, one clearly a tall man and the other a younger female, duelling in a darkened hall with blue lightsabers.

It was the most cryptic of all the visions Ahsoka had had and it was also the most confusing, she could see the tall male gaining the upper hand before knocking his opponent's lightsaber out of her hand and with a swift strike, stabbed his own saber clean through her chest as she let out a silent scream. And then the vision became dark, the image replaced by a dark cloud being pierced only by the glowing blue lightsaber blade of the victorious male Jedi and a pair of sickening yellow eyes that seemed to stare directly into Ahsoka's very soul.

It was then that Ahsoka had woken up; finding her face to be covered in beads of sweat as she continued to hug onto the pillar and her strength slowly began return to her. She quickly realised that she had fallen unconscious, though not for very long, seconds in fact, though the visions had seemed to have lingered on for longer.

She let out a deep sigh, again gathering herself and allowing the last oddments of strength to return to her before feeling she could continue with her task. A minute passed, then another, until finally Ahsoka pushed herself off the support of the pillar, stumbling a little at first but quickly finding her feet once again as she took in a long and heavy breath, preparing herself to finally enter the dark corridor ahead, rendezvous with Vaila and the younglings before Rex returned and then escape with Lux. After that, she wasn't sure what would happen, though in her heart, she didn't really want to know.

She was about to make the turn into the corridor when Ahsoka suddenly remembered the sound of lightsaber striking lightsaber that had echoed from the far end of the long hall before she had suffered the second attack on her senses. Not wanting to take a chance, she backed up against the wall just before the corridors entrance and cautiously peaked her head around the corner, freezing for a long second as her backpack rustled a little louder than she would have liked, before scanning the darkness for any danger, she sighed in frustration.

The corridor was darker than it had been before, and whatever small amount of light from the outside world that waved through had begun to fail her as she strained to see anything though the black cloak of darkness that had decanted upon that side of the temple. Deciding she had no other choice, Ahsoka stepped away for the wall and began to make her way down the corridor, keeping her senses on high alert as she did.

She was about half way through the darkness when Ahsoka could begin to make out the outline of what she knew was a person, laying deathly still with their back pressed up against one of the curved white pillars that dotted the corridor from end to end, their face obscured by an oversized hood. She sighed, her inner hopes of avoiding any dead Jedi quickly fading as she drew closer and seen that the figure was indeed wearing a signature robe of the order. There was one other thing that Ahsoka noticed though, something that made her freeze for a moment before quickening her pace to a frantic sprint, a single thought and realisation going through her mind, this Jedi was still alive.

Coming to a sliding halt in front of the obviously wounded Jedi, Ahsoka knelt to one knee and examined the figure, hearing heavy and broken breaths as she placed her right hand on the Jedi's shoulder, and fining herself unable to turn her gaze away from the open wound in the centre of the Jedi's chest, a wound Ahsoka knew could only be caused by a lightsaber.

Ahsoka then froze, her eyes widening as she spotted a pair of long blue lekku emanating from beneath the hood of the wounded Jedi, a sight that sent a another shock through her body as she felt the Jedi's gloved hand lay on top of the one Ahsoka had placed on their shoulder.

"Who… who are you?" an all too familiar voice asked, it was a soft and gentle tone Ahsoka had grown so used to, even in such a short time, but now she wished she had never heard it at all.

Her own breathing becoming more broken and painful than she would have liked, Ahsoka used her free left hand to hook the middle end of the young Jedi's hood, and with a swift and panicked flick of her wrist, she lifted the soft fabric above the head of her best friend, "…Vaila…"

Bright, yet pain filled, green eyes met Ahsoka's now tear soaked blue's, as Vaila weakly coughed and tightened her grip on Ahsoka's right hand, "Ah… Ahsoka… you came…" she said, managing a weak smile as a single tear slid down the young Twi'lek's flushed blue cheek.

Ahsoka too could feel her own tears running down her already stained cheeks, tears that she had hoped she would never have to shed, tears for her Master, for her saviour Plo Koon, for every Jedi who had been taken from her that evening, and now, tears for her best friend. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest and her lungs pained from a lack of air that had come hand in hand with the shock and disbelief that she was now experiencing, she never wanted any of this, ever.

"Of course I came… I wouldn't…" her voice shuck, "… I wouldn't just leave you" she said, her voice breaking through sobs as she too managed a pain filled smile of her own. Deep down Ahsoka didn't want to believe what was happening, yet she also knew the wound Vaila had suffered was nigh on impossible to heal. Whether it was instinct or something else, she could not tell, but all she wanted to do now, was comfort Vaila as much as she could, though she couldn't bring herself to even think about the inevitable.

Then again, she didn't have time to, as a harsh and sudden realisation that the final cryptic vision she had had back in the main hall was in fact the moment Vaila's fate had been sealed. Ahsoka cursed herself, she had been too late.

"Ahsoka, I… I'm so s… sorry" Vaila coughed again as she struggled to get the words out, her voice was weak, as was her breathing, though she seemed to be fighting on.

Ahsoka gently wiped away one of Vaila's tears with her left thumb, before shaking her head and letting a painful sob escape her, "No Vaila, you have nothing to be sorry for!" she said, almost shouting as her emotions once again began to spiral out of control, "It's me who should be sorry! If I had been here sooner, if Rex hadn't found me!" she punched the floor with her left hand, "Oh Vaila, please forgive me…"

Vaila weakly lay her right hand on Ahsoka's clenched fist, "It… wasn't your fault, Ahsoka… I was too… too weak…" she coughed again, and Ahsoka noticed a small trickle of blood slide down the young Twi'leks cheek before Vaila weakly released her hand from Ahsoka's clenched fist and wiped it away. Staring at the blood stain on her robe, Vaila let out a small but pain filled moan, before once again tightening her grip on Ahsoka's hand and lifting her head so their gazes met, "Ahsoka, do you remember… the promise we made to each other?"

Ahsoka nodded, remembering back to earlier that day, "We'd always be there for each other, no matter what" she said, repeating the vow they had made with one another on Lux's balcony.

Vaila again managed a weak smile, "Right… and you're here… just like you promised" she said, continuing to smile despite the obvious pain she was going through.

Ahsoka couldn't help but give a little laugh as Vaila finished, though her heart was slowly breaking as she felt her best friends life-force slowly wain away, "I'm scared Vaila…" she said, feeling the grip on her hand tighten again.

"Me too…" Vaila replied sadly, though even now she still seemed to be staying strong, stronger than Ahsoka had ever seen her, even in such a short time, Vaila had grown a lot today.

Averting her eyes from Ahsoka's and leaning her head to the side, Vaila fixed her eyes on the floor to her left, "My lightsaber… I… I dropped it" she said, gazing at the weapon that lay a few feet away from her reach.

Ahsoka didn't need to hear anymore to know what to do, she quickly raised her left arm and, using the force, called Vaila's lightsaber to her hand, "This weapon is your life" she said, deepening her voice like she had on Lux's airbus and mimicking her master, before once again managing a weak laugh through light sobs.

Vaila too managed to let out a low laugh, before she broke into another short fit of couching, "That's… not nice…" she said, her face brightening somewhat as she smiled again before taking her lightsaber from Ahsoka's offering hand and laying it on her flat stomach.

"Ahsoka… I want you to… to have something" said Vaila, letting go of her lightsaber and reaching underneath her new Jedi attire, revealing a small blue jewel on the end of a short silver chain necklace, "This pendent, It belonged to… the first friend I ever had… she gave it to me before…" she sighed, her eyes darkening slightly "Before she died…"

Ahsoka looked at the small pendent; it was shaped like a teardrop and made from pure sapphire that shined brightly, even in the darkness of the tunnel, "What was her name?" she asked, again locking her eyes with Vaila's.

The Twi'lek smiled, "Her name was… Elaya… she was a lot… like you… she understood me… she cared about me" another tear ran down her cheek, "She… saved my life once" she coughed again, "I want you to have it… Ellie made me promise… it's a symbol… a symbol of friendship… she told me… to pass it on to another friend… but I never felt the same bond with anyone else… until today" she finished, her bright green eyes darkening slightly once again as she gazed at Ahsoka and smiled.

Vaila then weakly undid the chain necklace with her free and offered it to Ahsoka. The Togruta hesitated for a moment before she finally accepted it, placing the chain around her neck as quick as Vaila had removed it from around her own and locking her eyes with the bright blue jewel, "It's beautiful" she said, examining the small pendant, noticing the letter V had been carved into the small silver plate that sat above the tear shaped sapphire, "I promise, I'll take good care of it, Vaila" she added, fighting her tears to give the Twi'lek another weak smile.

It was then that Vaila's body seemed to jerk a little, making the Twi'lek yelp with pain, before laying her had back against the pillar behind her and letting out another low couch before once again locking her eyes with Ahsoka's, "Call me… Vay-Vay" she said, he voice now even weaker than it had been, "Ellie… she used call me Vay-Vay"

At that moment Ahsoka felt all the pain and anguish return to her broken heart, she knew what was coming, "I'm here… Vay-Vay" she said, trying to smile but finding it too difficult as she felt Vaila's grip on her right hand slowly weaken, until eventually she took it upon herself to take the young Twi'lek's left hand and place it in both of her own.

"Ahsoka… tell my master… tell her I'm sorry, and… thank her for taking me as her padawan" she sighed, struggling to breathe, "Ahsoka… thank you… for being my friend… for being here for me" Vaila said, her eyes suddenly returning to their full and beautiful leaf green as she fixed them on the pendent, "We… we'll see each other again… someday" she smiled, breathing a heavy sigh as she looked sadly into Ahsoka's blue eyes.

"No Vay-Vay, It's me who should be thanking you… I've never had a friend that understood me in the way you do, who could brighten my day with a simple smile, who can look me in the eye to tell me everything would be alright and mean it" Ahsoka paused, sniffing and trying to hold her tears back, "I'll never forget you…"

Ahsoka kept her best friends hand held in her own, as she let her tears and cries loose upon the world she was now inwardly cursing for being so cruel. Each passing second felt like an eternity as she kept her eyes locked with Vaila's, an unspoken promise that she would stay with her until the end, that she would continue to be there for her until she couldn't anymore, and it was then that Vaila let a final broken breath escape her lips, before closing her eyes, leaving behind a soft and meaningful smile as she allowed a warm blanket of light to surround and comfort her, and with one final tear, Vaila Secura, became one with the force and Ahsoka through her broken voice and tear stained face was forced to say, "Sleep easy Vaila, I'll see you again soon… Goodbye".

She couldn't bring herself to move her hands away, to let go, to truly say goodbye. And yet she was being forced to. Ahsoka had been through so much in her short life, for seventeen years she had gone through trials and tribulations that would send any other Jedi over the edge and yet she continued, finding strength in places she never thought she could, confiding in her master and friends when she needed a shoulder to cry on or a hand to help her up, but now, now everything had changed.

Vaila was gone, her newest and best friend, she had only known her for a day and yet she had grown closer to her than anyone other than her master and now it seemed she had lost both of them. She gripped the pendant Vaila had given her, the surprisingly cold sapphire stone shocking her back to reality as she tried once again to regain her senses, though there was only one emotion occupying her mind and soul at that moment, anger.

A fire she had never before felt was now burning inside her, like the deepest pits of Mustafar, and she could feel the all too welcoming dark side of the force surround her, entice her, offer her a way out, and for a moment she felt as though she had nothing to lose by falling into its embrace, and letting all her pain and anguish become strength and power. But then, her eyes where opened and she heard a voice from the past, no, a voice from the future, and a memory that she had long forgotten call out to her with a meaningful warning, as the doors to the council chamber slid open.

She turned to look, to see who was exiting the chamber, to see Vaila's killer with her own eyes and confront him, but she never got the chance. A forceful blast of air suddenly hit Ahsoka hard, and she was sent spinning and crashing against the nearby pillar, slipping suddenly and emphatically out of consciousness and into a deep and powerful slumber while she continued to grip Vaila's right hand, and through her fading vision, seen a dark and hooded figure coming to a slow stop in front of her, and she once again heard a voice from her past, and future, call out to her once more.

"_Are you happy, child? Your master, does he treat you well?"_

"_I am your future. Your potential."_

"_There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the dark side planted by your master. Do you feel it?"_

"_There are many contradictions in you. And in him. Be warned, you may never see your future if you remain his student! Leave this planet!"_

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**Disclaimer: **Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

**Author's Notes: **Hey guys, thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter. To be honest it was probably the most difficult I've ever written. I really wanted to make Vaila's passing as gripping as possible though I'm not sure if I achieved that :-/

I've never written an emotional death scene before so I'm worried that I got it completely wrong and screwed it up. I know I ask every chapter but a review letting me know your honest opinion on this part of the story would be very much appreciated, along with any advice I could use when writing future stories.

Also, I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed the two spin off chapters, we reached a total of 12 reviews for both which is unbelievable! Thank you so much for the continued support, I love you all! :-)

Anyways, thank you all as always for reading and I will catch you guys next time, cheers!

**Added Note: **A little info for people who may be asking who Elaya was and how Vaila came to possess her pendent in the first place, I'm writing a spin off story that is dedicated entirely to Vaila's life up until the events of this story. So if you're interested, feel free to head over to my profile and click on 'Vaila', I'm currently on chapter two but plan on updating every two weeks, meaning chapter three should be up next Friday.

Thanks again!


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